Amarutsu
by blue-genjutsu
Summary: During the second test of the Chuunin Exams, Orochimaru unknowingly brings out the real Naruto. A Naruto that has a powerful bloodline limit. SasuNaru
1. Naruto's life takes a sharp turn

**Pairings**: None at the beginning but later, future SasuNaru, some GaaNaru, may be other pairings with Naruto.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boyxboy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

**This first chapter was rewritten because of some good advice from one of my reviewers.**

This story begins during the second test of the Chuunin Exams, after all the teams are released into the Forest Death. You will understand the beginning of this story better if you have seen the anime series up to where Orochimaru finds Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura in the Forest of Death during the second part of the Chuunin Exams. This story is AU. This story's length will be long and cover many chapters before it is finished.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics, ' ' represent thoughts within a dream or quotes within quotes.

**Chapter One – Naruto's life takes a sharp turn**

After Orochimaru sealed up the power of the kyuubi, by using the Gogyo Fuin, something strange happened...Naruto no longer looked like the same boy that he had been holding up. _What the hell is this? Did he henge or something? It doesn't feel like a henge. This boy looks familiar somehow, and I sense a different type of aura about him and it is not connected to the fox. Well, I don't have time to figure this out right now. I'll deal with him later. It's Sasuke I want._ Orochimaru flicked his tongue and tossed Naruto away from him.

Sakura saved Naruto from falling to his death by throwing a kunai at him, that went through his jacket and pinned him to a tree. While Naruto was unconscious he had a strange dream.

_Naruto found himself in a room that he had never seen before. The walls were painted dark blue and the only furniture he could see were two chairs that had heavy ,white padding on the seats and backs. A blonde man, that had a face that Naruto recognized as being on the Hokage Monument, was sitting in one of the chairs and asked Naruto to sit down in the other. Being curious, Naruto sat down._

"_Are you the Fourth Hokage?"_

_The man smiled. "Yes, and I am also your father."_

_'My father?' "This is just a dream isn't it?"_

_The Fourth Hokage laughed. "In a way. It's something I left inside of you that you would see and hear when the time was right."_

_Naruto gave him a confused look. "I don't understand. Then this is real?"_

"_Yes this is real. Everything I will tell you is the truth. Which you will see when you awaken."_

"_So that means, you really are my father?"_

"_Yes, and I will explain it all to you. I'm going to tell you a story about your mother and her clan, and about how it affects you. Also, I will tell you why I sealed Kyuubi within you. Just be patient and listen to all I say, then I will answer any questions you have after. Can you do that for me?"_

_Naruto thought about that. "Yes, I will listen and hold my questions till you finish." 'This has to be a dream! But I might as well humor him.'_

_Naruto's father then proceeded to tell Naruto a fascinating story about himself._

"_Unknown to anyone, except the Third Hokage, when I had sealed the demon fox into you using the Shiki Fujin and the Hakke no Fuin Shiki, I also performed another kinjutsu on you, that was connected to the fox's chakra. This forbidden technique altered your appearance, so that you would not only look different, but so that as you grew you would look like you were aging as normal. This was done because you look just like your mother. And your mother's looks are recognizable as coming from the Amarutsu clan. A clan that was massacred when your mother was just two years old._

_Your mother, Amaya, had wandered off from her parent's home, into the woods nearby, right before the assassins arrived and murdered her clan. She was found by an old woman in the village and that woman, recognizing what clan she was from, sent her to live with her daughter in Konoha, in order for her to be safe. The woman that adopted your mother told the Third Hokage who your mother was. She and I both found out everything about her past and about her clan, right before we were married. It was the Third Hokage that told us._

_The Amarutsu clan were not a large clan and they had lived in the Hidden Cloud Village. They were not large in numbers, because a long time ago the Hyuuga clan was formed from them and when the Hidden Village of Leaf was created they moved their clan here._

_The Uchiha's, who had split off from the Hyuuga's themselves, had followed the Hyuuga's here to Konoha. Both clans had wanted a new start, one that would allow them to get out from under the shadow of the great Amarutsu clan, their more powerful cousins._

_Despite the fact, that there were not that many clan members, the Amarutsu clan possessed a bloodline limit that was feared by all the other clans. Which is why they were all killed. Even though it was rare for any Amarutsu to even develop the full potential of the bloodline limit, when someone did have it, that person was nearly invincible in power. At the time of the massacre, there was no living person that had obtained the full potential of the bloodline limit._

_This bloodline limit, called the Seichuu Chakra, allows the person who has it, to be able to control and use the chakra of anything that contains chakra in it. Naruto, there is a chance that you have this bloodline limit and I will tell you the things you would be able to do with it, if you have it. You would be able to drain, or take away, the chakra of other people or any other thing that has chakra within it. And you would also be able to fill the chakra pathways of people with your own chakra or the chakra of anything around you, that has chakra in it. Also, with this ability you could see the chakra pathways in everything that has chakra and be able to tell the difference between all chakra signatures._

_Because of the fact that the Sharingan was a genetic mutation that came from the Amarutsu bloodline limit originally, you would also be able to see through any ninjutsu and genjutsu and be able to stop it or take control of it. You will find, if you do have the bloodline limit, that you have an enormous amount of chakra within you. This is different from others your age and even more than most adults have. You will learn how to use this bloodline limit, as time passes and the need to use it arises. Just use your imagination. _

_Now you probably also have some traits that you got from me. Incredible stamina, strong determination, and being able to learn things quickly. Combine these traits with the Amarutsu bloodline limit and you would be a very powerful ninja._

_Your mother died after she gave birth to you, Naruto, during the kyuubi's attack on the village. She didn't possess the bloodline limit herself, she was just a carrier of it. When I had learned of her death and had decided to have you be the container for the nine-tailed fox's soul, I realized I had to hide your identity from others. You were too young to protect yourself from those wishing to kill you, because of the chance you could have the bloodline limit and because of being my son. So I asked Sarutobi to help keep it a secret and to make it look like you had died with your mother._

_I gave you the name of Uzumaki Naruto, because there was no clan by the name of Uzumaki, at least none that I have heard of. But neither I nor Sarutobi could keep the villagers from knowing that you were the container of the kyuubi, because there were witnesses around when I performed the sealing and they told others about an orphan boy that was used as the container to save the village._

_The kinjutsu I used on you, not only changed your appearance so you wouldn't look like an Amarutsu, but it also inhibited the bloodline limit from being activated. That was done to protect your identity too. The only way that you would be able to use the bloodline limit is if you could no longer be able to use the fox's chakra. Normally if a demon is unsealed from his host or taken out of him, the host would die. But because there is a chance that you could have the bloodline limit, I believed there was a good chance that you would survive that._

_That is one of the many reasons that I had decided to have you be the host for the Kyuubi, Naruto. I really believe that you will be safe and that you can survive anything that may happen to you in the future. So, what questions do you have?"_

_'Wow! This is all so hard to believe! It has to be a dream. A really weird dream.' Naruto looked at the man that had just told him he was his father and then told him an unbelievable tale. "Um, okay. Well that sure is a lot for me to take in right now. You told me so much that I don't know where to start."_

"_I understand, son. I know you need time to think this all over and to begin to believe it. You can go to the Third Hokage and ask him the questions that you think of later. He knows everything."_

"_Okay, but can you visit me again? I'd rather ask you!"_

"_I'm sorry, son. It will be a while till we see each other again. Just go to Sarutobi. You can also talk to one of the legendary sannins, Jiraiya is his name, and he can tell you about when he was my sensei. Hatake Kakashi was one of my students and he can also tell you about me."_

"_Kakashi-sensei is my teacher!"_

"_Oh really?" The tall blonde smiled. "That is very interesting." 'So my former student is now my son's teacher. Small world.'_

_Arashi, Naruto's father stood up and then walked over to his son and smiled down at him._

_Naruto stood up also and just stared at the man that he really wanted to believe was his father._

_The tall blond man wrapped his arms around his son and hugged him. "I want you to know that I'm very proud of you, son. I love you." _

_Naruto hugged the man back. 'If this really is my father...or even if it's a dream, I want to stay here and learn all about him. It would be great to spend time with him. But he's dead, isn't he? This can't be real.' _

_The man then released Naruto and reached up with a hand and petted him on the head. "I have to go now, son. It's time for you to wake up and see the truth. One day we will all meet again, you, me and your mother." Then the man smiled a loving smile at his son and then disappeared._

"_Wait! Come back!"_

Naruto then slowly awoke from his dream.

"Naruto you're awake!" Sakura got up and went to him and hugged him. "I'm so glad! I was afraid that I would have to take care of both you alone."

"What do you mean?" Naruto looked down and saw Sasuke lying down beside him. Sasuke was unconscious and looked like he was in pain. "What happened to Sasuke? What did I miss?"

Sakura moved back to the other side of Sasuke and sat down with a frightened look on her face. "I don't know really! That evil man bit him and I think he may have poisoned Sasuke-kun! I can't get him to wake up and there is a strange mark on his neck." Sakura showed Naruto the mark.

"That looks like a seal of some sort. I wonder what it's for? What should we do Sakura-chan?" Naruto was worried. Sasuke could be dying.

"I don't know what to do, Naruto." Sakura frowned. Then when she looked up at Naruto again she remembered that something had happened to him too. He looked like a complete stranger now.

_Actually Naruto looks hot now! If I wasn't in love with Sasuke-kun I could really go for him. Wait! Even if he's gorgeous right now, he's still Naruto and still an idiot!_ "Um, Naruto...what happened to you? You look so different now and if I hadn't seen you change with my own eyes, I would think you were someone else."

"What? What do you mean I look different?" Naruto was puzzled.

Sakura reached into her weapon pouch and found the mirror she always carried with her. She always had to look good for her Sasuke-kun. "Here, see for yourself."

Naruto took the mirror and looked at himself in it. A shocked expression spread over his face. He poked at the mirror and saw it was really him. _What's going on!_ Then Naruto tried to dismiss the henge that he thought he might have accidentally done on himself. But nothing happened, he still looked the same.

Naruto was staring at a stranger that still had blue eyes. But the shade of them was different. They were more a greenish blue now, like the sea. His skin was still a golden tan color though, but his whiskers were gone. His hair was different too. It was no longer spiky, instead it was straight and thick. The color was lighter and he had white-blond streaks running through his golden blond hair. And it was a lot longer now too.

Naruto felt around to the back of his head and moved his hand down his hair. His hair reached to the middle of his back. _Wow my hair is so long! And my face looks girly! Just what I need...I look like a pretty boy, just like Sasuke! Crap!_

Then Naruto remembered the dream and what the man, claiming to be his father had said about his appearance being changed with a forbidden technique connected to the fox's chakra. _Something must have happened to the fox! Did that snake man do something to me? Oh yeah I remember he hit the fox's seal with something and it hurt really bad._

Naruto looked deep inside of himself and called out to the fox. _Yo, fox! You still in there!_

All of a sudden Naruto found himself in front of the cage of the fox.

The fox came up to the gate and put his face up against the bars. Then he growled angrily. _What did you do to me brat? I feel a heavy pressure on me and it hurts. If you don't stop this, I'll come out there and eat you!_

_Ha! You can't fox! You're stuck in there and you aren't getting out!_ Naruto smirked at the fox.

The fox tried to grab Naruto by pushing one of it's arms through the bars. Naruto jumped back from it.

_If you ever want some of my power again, little boy, you will stop whatever you have done to hurt me._ The fox then noticed that his host looked different. He felt that it was the same boy, but he didn't know why he would look different. _What's up with the new look, brat?_

_None of your business fox! I just wanted to check up on you and see if you were still here._

_Where else would I be brat! Go away then if you aren't going to help me._

_Well I don't know how to help you and I'm not the one that hurt you. Some evil snake man did it. But since you're okay and I'm okay, then this could all be for the best. See you later, fox!_

_For the best? I'm in pain here boy!_

Naruto ignored him and left the fox. He came back to himself and then looked at himself in the mirror once more, then he handed it back to Sakura.

"Naruto! I was talking to you and you were ignoring me!"

"Oh, sorry Sakura-chan, what were you saying?"

"I was asking you why you look different now!"

"Oh yeah! Well it's kinda a long story." Naruto was still trying to process everything that he had been told in his dream and the fact he looked different now. _Was my father really the Fourth Hokage? That dream must have been real. Otherwise why did my appearance change? And why do I feel different now? I'm going to go with the dream being real. But I need to talk to the Third. Father said the old man knows all about me and can answer any questions I have._

"Naruuuto! We have plenty of time. Sasuke-kun isn't awake yet, so tell me what's going on!"

"Okay, well I don't know if you will believe this but..." Naruto then went on to tell Sakura everything that his father had told him in the dream. When Naruto was finished talking, he waited to see Sakura's reaction.

TBC


	2. Acceptance

**Pairings**: None at the beginning but later, future SasuNaru, some GaaNaru, may be other pairings with Naruto.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boyxboy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Two – Acceptance**

Sakura was in shock at all that Naruto had told her. In her mind she kept going over and over what he had said. _He's an idiot and loud and obnoxious, how could he be the son of a hero like Yondaime? But putting everything together it all makes sense somehow. If it's true then the Fourth sealed the fox in his own child. How could a father do something like that?_ Sakura felt sorry for Naruto. "Okay, this sounds fairly plausible. It did look like that snake man did something to your stomach right before you changed. That's where your seal is right?"

Naruto raised his jacket and shirt up to expose his belly. Then he concentrated some chakra there to show the seal to Sakura. "This is the seal for the kyuubi. You're right, that man performed some sealing jutsu on me and that's what caused me to pass out." He put his shirt and jacket back down over his stomach.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Sakura had tears in her eyes. _I never knew Naruto had such a sad life. He never got to know his parents and then having that demon sealed in him. No wonder the adults in the village seemed to hate him. I could never understand why before. But they are so ignorant! Naruto isn't the demon, he is just the container. And he is always so bright and happy. They have no reason whatsoever to hate him because of the fox. It's just so unfair._

"For what, Sakura-chan?"

"For the way I treated you before and for being insensitive to you for not having any parents." Sakura couldn't look Naruto in the eyes because she felt so guilty.

"That's okay Sakura-chan. You didn't know. I never knew my parents and I have just learned of them. So I will be okay. I can't wait to talk to the old man though!"

"Old man?"

"Yeah you know, the Third! My father told me to talk to him about all this, because he knows all about it. I have a lot of questions I want him to answer." _I want to know everything about my parents and I want to know why the old man didn't tell me anything himself._

"Speaking of questions! Do you know if you have that bloodline limit?"

"Well no, not really. I haven't tried to use it yet."

Sakura felt shock as she remembered again, what Naruto had said before about his clan's bloodline limit. _If there was someone that could do something like that, they would be unbeatable. How can a bloodline limit like that exist?_

"My father told me a bit about how it works. _I wonder if I have it! I do feel different right now. I need to see if I can do anything different. But we're in a dangerous place right now and we still have to get to the tower in the middle of this forest. Plus, something's wrong with Sasuke._

"Well I'll believe such a bloodline limit exists when I see it, Naruto. It's just so hard for me to believe that someone could actually be able to control chakra like that."

Naruto was only half listening to what Sakura said, he was too worried about Sasuke at the moment to pay attention to her. Naruto reached over to Sasuke and touched his seal. It caused his fingers to tingle and he almost jerked himself back from Sasuke. But something inside him told him to put his hand on the seal. So Naruto obeyed that urge and placed his palm over the seal. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the chakra in the seal.

_I can see it and feel it. It's a powerful and evil feeling chakra. Feels like it's a poison that needs to be drained out._ As Naruto kept concentrating on it, he felt something within himself pull at the foreign chakra in Sasuke's shoulder. He could see, even with his eyes closed, a dark purple chakra coming out through the back of his hand. It was leaving Sasuke and going through his hand then out into the air. Naruto concentrated harder on pulling on the chakra. Finally, it stopped coming out and Naruto opened his eyes, then he took his hand off Sasuke. He looked at where the seal had been and it was gone.

Sakura had been watching Naruto, but she couldn't see the chakra that was coming out of Sasuke. But she had sensed that something was happening. Then when she saw that the seal was gone from Sasuke, she looked at Sasuke's face. Sasuke no longer looked in pain and he now looked like he was sleeping peacefully. _That's amazing! Did Naruto take off the seal?_ She looked at Naruto.

"Yeah, I did that. Guess that's part of what I can do with the bloodline limit. I guess I do have it." Naruto was not sure how to feel at the moment. He was surprised, happy, confused and eager. He wanted to know what else he could do, but he was confused about how he was able to use his bloodline limit. _This will take a lot of practice!_

"Wow! Well if you really do have that bloodline limit you described, then the rest of this exam should be a piece of cake!" Sakura was proud of Naruto and happy that he had been able to help Sasuke. But she was worried about how Sasuke would feel when he learned that Naruto was now stronger than him. She wanted Sasuke to be the more powerful one. Now she didn't know what was going to happen in the future with their team. _Naruto will advance way past us if he has that bloodline limit! I would be happy to have Sasuke-kun all to myself, but Sasuke-kun will be angry and probably will ignore me even more. Also, we would have to get a new team mate. I want our team to stay the same._

"Well, Sakura-chan...I just found out about it, but I will do my best to make sure we get to the tower with both scrolls. We still have to find a team that has the earth scroll, since our own is a heaven one." Naruto started looking in his weapon pouch to get the scroll out.

_Damn I forgot! Naruto doesn't know what happened to our scroll._ "Um, Naruto...it's not there anymore."

Naruto looked up at Sakura with a puzzled look.

"That man took it out of your pouch before he did that sealing jutsu on you, and so that scroll is lost to us." Sakura looked unhappy.

"What! Now we have to find both scrolls!" Naruto was angry.

"Yes, but I have faith that we can do it!" Sakura smiled at Naruto with renewed optimism.

Naruto saw Sakura's determination and it lifted his own spirit. He smiled back at her. "You bet we can, Sakura-chan!" Naruto gave her a thumbs up, then his stomach growled. "Oh...um, I'm really hungry Sakura-chan." He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Well, you are going to have to hunt us some food then, Naruto! I have to stay with Sasuke-kun to make sure he's safe." Sakura nodded towards the sleeping Uchiha.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naruto grumbled, then got up and headed out of their shelter. "I'll try not to take too long, Sakura-chan!" He ran off in search of food.

Sakura looked back down at Sasuke. She raised her hand up and placed it on one of his shoulders, then shook him. "Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun, wake up." She shook him a few more times, calling out his name.

Sasuke slowly woke up. _I must have been having a dream before. I hear Sakura calling me and she doesn't sound frightened._ Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around. Then he saw Sakura kneeling beside him. Her hand still on one of his shoulders. "Sakura? What happened? Where are we?"

Sakura was ecstatic that Sasuke was awake and appeared fine. She took her hand off his shoulder and smiled happily at him. "We're safe now, Sasuke-kun. I brought you and Naruto to this shelter a little while ago."

"Were we fighting with a snake-like man earlier? Or was I dreaming that?"

Sakura got a frightened look on her face. "No, Sasuke-kun, that wasn't a dream. I was so scared before. I thought we were going to die. I was especially afraid that you were going to die." She shuddered when she said that. "That evil man bit you and put some seal on you and then he left."

Sasuke then remembered that he had been bitten. He put his hand on his shoulder and felt the bite marks. Then he tried to look at his shoulder to see the seal that Sakura was talking about. "I don't see a seal. Where is it?"

"It's gone now, thank goodness! Naruto took it off of you."

Sasuke looked at Sakura sharply. Then looked around to see where Naruto was. When he didn't see him, he looked back at Sakura with surprise. "What do you mean that dobe took it off of me? Where is he anyway?"

Sakura smiled at Sasuke. "He's out hunting for something for us to eat. But you will be surprised when I tell you about the new Naruto."

Sasuke glared at Sakura. "Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what's going on."

Sakura frowned at Sasuke's impatience. Then forgave him and smiled at him again. "Okay well first thing you will notice when you see Naruto again is that his appearance has changed." Sasuke frowned in puzzlement, but didn't interrupt her. "Don't freak out and think he's an enemy when he gets back, okay?"

_What the hell is going on here! And I never freak out!_ Sasuke glared at her. "Just keep talking."

Sakura fidgeted at the glare Sasuke was giving her, but she got her courage back quickly and started talking again. She repeated everything that Naruto and her had talked about earlier. As word for word as she could remember it. "So, what do you think, Sasuke-kun? It's strange isn't it? I'm sure Kakashi-sensei knows about Naruto and the kyuubi, but Naruto said that only the Third Hokage knows who Naruto's parents really were."

_The dobe is stronger than me! Now how can I measure myself against him, so I can get strong enough to kill Itachi? This is so unfair!_ Sasuke brooded. He was not happy at all to hear of the truth about Naruto. He knew he was being selfish and that it wasn't Naruto's fault, but he had a goal that he had to achieve and he couldn't afford to care about anyone else right now.

"Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun did you hear me?" Sakura couldn't understand why Sasuke looked angry and wasn't saying anything. _Sure, Sasuke-kun is probably a little jealous of Naruto right now, but to look so angry._ She was afraid that things were going to bad between Sasuke and Naruto now.

Sasuke finally realized he had been quiet too long. He looked up at Sakura. "Yes, I heard you, I was just thinking about all you told me."

Just then Naruto walked into the clearing and then over to their shelter. He saw Sasuke sitting up next to Sakura. "Hey, you're finally awake! I managed to find a stream close by and I caught us some fish." Naruto was grinning and holding up a string with 3 fairly large trout hanging from it. He noticed Sasuke was staring at him with a strange look on his face. "Didn't you tell him, Sakura-chan?" He turned to look at Sakura.

Sakura was still a bit surprised as she looked at the pretty blond boy and tried to reconcile in her mind that he was Naruto. "Um...yeah, I told him everything."

Naruto shrugged and then told Sakura that they needed a fire. He couldn't put the fish down anywhere because they would get dirty, so he would have to hold them up until he could put them on sticks above the fire.

"Alright, Naruto. I'll get the firewood." Sakura then got up and started picking up sticks and pieces of wood that were scattered around the area.

Sasuke still hadn't said anything. He was also still staring at Naruto.

Naruto shifted from foot to foot nervously. "How long do you plan on staring at me, Sasuke-teme?" _Geez, what is wrong with him? I wish he would stop staring at me like that._

Sasuke shook himself back to awareness. He looked away from Naruto. "I was not staring at you, usuratonkachi."

_Huh? Liar!_ "Yes you were, Sasuke-teme and don't call me that!"

"...Hn."

Sakura came up to Naruto and placed some of the wood in front of him. She then looked at Sasuke. "Um, Sasuke-kun, can you do that fire jutsu of yours on this?"

Sasuke got up and walked over to the pile of wood.

Sakura and Naruto moved back so they wouldn't get burned.

Sasuke performed seals then spoke out, "Katon Gokakyu no Jutsu." Luckily he knew how to control how much fire he released and managed to only ignite the firewood into flames. Then Sasuke turned around and went back into the shelter and then sat down. He wanted to be alone to think.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura helped Naruto get the fish onto sticks and put them up over the fire.

Naruto sat down near Sakura by the fire. He whispered, "Hey, Sakura-chan, how did Sasuke react when you told him about me?"

Sakura looked over to Sasuke and saw he was not paying them any attention. "Well, he was quiet after I told him everything." She whispered back. She felt it was better to leave out the part about Sasuke seeming angry. She wanted things to stay peaceful.

"Okay, thanks." Naruto whispered to her.

Several minutes later, the fish were done enough to eat. "I think the fish are done. Hey Sasuke-teme, time to eat!" Then Naruto took one of the sticks with a fish on it and handed it to Sakura, then he grabbed another for himself and started eating.

"Thank you, Naruto." Sakura smiled then started eating herself.

Sasuke got up and came over to them and got his own fish, then he moved a little distance from the others and started to eat.

Sakura wasn't happy that Sasuke didn't sit by her. But she didn't want to anger him, so she said nothing about his choice of where to eat. _I wish he would stop sulking. We are all safe and we should be feeling good about ourselves now. Naruto seems to be in good spirits despite his new circumstances. I wish Sasuke-kun could be more like Naruto and give me a smile, at the very least._

Naruto was busy thinking as he ate too. _I think Sasuke is angry with me. Or maybe he's just jealous that I'm stronger than him now. I wish he'd get that stick out of his ass and just get over it. We still have to get two scrolls in order to finish this second test. We need to work together as a team._

Sasuke realized some things as he finished up his meal. _I've got to stop thinking about Naruto's new power and finish getting through this exam. I'll just put this all to the back of mind, to think about later. Sakura said that snake-like man took our scroll. Now we are far behind the other teams in this exam. We are going to have to come up with a strategy where we can defeat two teams and get their scrolls, but we have to be able to figure out a way to tell which team has what scroll. Otherwise we'll take too long to get them. I will not fail this exam. This is a way to test my strength. To see how strong I've become._

Sasuke was finished eating and so he got up and dug a hole and buried the fish bones. Then he threw his stick in the fire. He sat down next to Sakura.

Naruto and Sakura had finished eating too and they copied what Sasuke had done by burying their fish bones and tossing their sticks on the fire. Then both of them sat down on each side of Sasuke and looked at him.

"We need a plan." Sasuke looked at each of them, then looked into the fire.

"Great, I'm glad you remembered what we are here for, Sasuke!" Naruto grinned.

"...Hn."

Sakura smiled at Sasuke. "So how do we get the scrolls, Sasuke-kun? I know you can come up with a great plan! _Yes, Sasuke-kun is so smart! He will lead us to victory! Inner Sakura cheered her Sasuke-kun on._

"Why does Sasuke always get to tell us what to do? I'm way smarter than him!" Naruto glared at Sasuke.

Sakura reached over to Naruto and hit him on the head. "You baka! Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that! You can never be as smart as he is!" Sakura looked at Sasuke to get his approval.

Sasuke ignored her and looked at Naruto and then smirked. "Dobe, even with your new found bloodline limit and heritage, you will never stop being a dobe."

"Stop calling me that, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto glared at him, then folded his arms on his chest and looked away from Sasuke. "Hmmph!"

Sasuke's smirk grew wider and he turned his head away from Naruto, to look back at the fire again. _Well at least Naruto still acts the same. I may be able to handle this change in him better than I thought. _"Naruto, Sakura said that your mother's clan was the clan that gave birth to the Hyuuga's and the Uchiha's. If that is true, then you should have an ability similar to the Hyuuga's Byakugan. Do you think you can try to access that part of your bloodline limit now?"

Naruto was surprised that Sasuke was now being civil towards him. And he was happy that he had some skills that could help his team. "I will try to see if I can do it, Sasuke."

Naruto concentrated chakra to his eyes and looked out in front of where they were sitting. At first, all that happened was his eyesight became better and he could see farther. So he concentrated more chakra and tried to focus his eyes on seeing even farther. He jumped up all of a sudden and said in a quiet tone, almost as low as a whisper. "Sasuke, I see another team."

Sasuke got up and went to stand beside Naruto and looked at him. "Can you tell how far away they are?"

Sakura got excited and got up to stand next to Sasuke. She too looked at Naruto.

"Well, I'm not too sure. Let me see." Naruto tried to judge the distance from where they were standing to where the people he was looking at were. He could see them talking, but couldn't hear them. _Wait! Maybe if I focus chakra in my ears too I'll be able hear them!_ So Naruto focused a large amount of chakra to his ears and tried to tell if he could hear them. He heard several voices talking, but he realized it was more voices than the amount of people he was looking at. So he tried to focus on just where the ones he wanted to hear were standing.

"Naruto, what's taking so long!" Sakura was getting impatient.

Because she was so close to Naruto, while his hearing was advanced, it caused him to yell in pain. "Ow! Don't do that Sakura-chan, it hurts!" Naruto hurt himself too, when he yelled that. He waved his hand at his team mates and whispered. "Give me a minute."

Naruto continued to listen to the group he was looking at. After he heard what they were saying, he frowned. He released the extra chakra he had gathered in his ears, but kept on watching their enemies. "Sasuke, as far as I can figure...they are about half a mile in that direction. They are crouched behind some bushes, talking. I was able to hear what they said too."

Then Naruto feeling satisfied that their enemies weren't going anywhere soon, released the chakra he had focused to his eyes, then turned to his team mates.

"What did they say?" Sasuke was amazed at Naruto's abilities. _He can see like a Hyuuga, but he can also hear long distances. He will be a great asset for our team. But there's no way I'm going to tell him that! He's already got a big enough ego as it is._

"They plan on attacking us at dawn."

Sakura gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I heard them, Sakura-chan. And one of them was saying that some man named Orochimaru told them to kill Sasuke." Naruto looked at Sasuke.

"What! We can't let them kill Sasuke-kun!" Sakura looked at Sasuke and then grabbed his arm and hugged it. "What are we going to do, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke pulled his arm away from Sakura and looked back at the fire. "We attack them first. Then we get their scroll. Then we go find another team to fight. That is what we do."

"Yay! So Sasuke, when do we go after them? Tonight?" Naruto was eager to fight the other team and to try out his new abilities on them.

"Not yet. We will wait a few hours. Sakura and Naruto, both of you go to sleep so that you will be ready to fight. I'll take watch."

"But Sasuke-kun, you were hurt earlier and you need rest too!" Sakura wanted Sasuke to be in good shape for the fight so that he could beat the other team. She was afraid that the other team would go after Sasuke the most and he could get hurt.

"Sakura, I slept earlier remember. I will be fine. Now go inside the shelter and go to sleep." He moved away from her.

"Alright, Sasuke-kun. Good night." She smiled at Sasuke and then went inside the shelter and laid down to go to sleep.

"Naruto, wait a few minutes before turning in. I need to set up some traps around the perimeter. Just in case. You can go to sleep when I get back."

"Sure, Sasuke. I'll watch over Sakura till you get back." Naruto moved to stand in front of their shelter, facing the forest.

Sasuke left the camp to set up the traps.

TBC


	3. Getting the scrolls

**Pairings**: None at the beginning but later, future SasuNaru, some GaaNaru, may be other pairings with Naruto.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Three – Getting the scrolls**

Mitarashi Anko, who was the instructor for the second test of the Chuunin Exams, and also a former student of Orochimaru, had been shown the mutilated corpses of one of the Rain genin teams that had come to Konoha for the exams. She had realized that Orochimaru had stolen the identity of one of them and had then told the chuunin, who had shown her the bodies, to tell the Hokage what Orochimaru had done and asked that Hokage meet her at the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death. Then Anko had raced through the forest in search of her old sensei. When she finally found him, she had tried to kill him but failed.

Orochimaru left her with a warning to not cancel the exams and had told her he was interested in Uchiha Sasuke. Anko met up with the Hokage later at the tower and the two waited to see what would happen next.

* * *

After Orochimaru had left Anko, he had been on his way to leave the forest when he felt something happen to the seal he had put on Sasuke. He first felt it weaken, then it just disappeared. He was in shock that anyone would be able to remove his curse seal. He headed back deeper into the forest and searched for his right hand man, Yakushi Kabuto. Kabuto was Orochimaru's spy.

Orochimaru found Kabuto and his team and appeared before them. "Kabuto."

Kabuto was surprised by the visit from his leader, but he didn't show it on his face. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Orochimaru-sama?" He bowed to him.

"Something has happened to the curse seal I put on my new pet, Uchiha Sasuke. I want you to find out what happened and then tell me when we meet at the tower."

"I am surprised that anything could happen to the curse seal, there is no one that would be able to remove it." _Not even the Hokage would be able to remove Orochimaru's curse seal!_

"So am I and that is why I want you to investigate this. You did earn the trust of the rookie Leaf genins did you not?"

"Yes, as you ordered, Orochimaru-sama. When do you wish me to meet up with the Uchiha's team?"

"Wait till the morning, and do not arouse their suspicions. I still want Sasuke-kun. I need to know if I can put the seal back on him again, without interference from others. Whoever did this must be taken out. But not by you."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama. I will find out who did this." Kabuto bowed again at his leader.

"I know I can count on you." Orochimaru then disappeared.

_Well, it looks like things have become quite interesting now. Orochimaru looked almost angry when he talked about the curse seal being removed. It is unusual for him to show his true emotions. He must have been shocked when it happened._ Kabuto smiled at the thought. He enjoyed seeing when the powerful sannin had a weakness.

* * *

Dosu, Zaku and Kin, the only Sound genin team (not counting Kabuto's team, who are posing as Leaf genins) participating in the Chuunin Exams, had moved closer to their targets during the night. They could now see them and observe their activities.

"Which one is the Uchiha?" Zaku was tired of waiting, but he couldn't get Dosu to change his mind about when the attack would occur.

Dosu looked at his male team mate. "The dark-haired one that is keeping watch over the camp."

"We should just attack them now! The other two are sleeping and it would be easy to attack the Sasuke kid while he's alone." Kin, the only female on the team, was also impatient with waiting. _They are just kids! They are no match for us._

"No. We go by the plan. We wait till they aren't expecting to be attacked. I told you before, they will be expecting an attack at night. We can't afford to be careless. Even if they look harmless." Dosu was annoyed with his two team mates. _I don't even like them! But they are my team mates and I need them to survive to finish these exams. I do want to become a chuunin, after all._

Dosu's companions settled down after the reprimand from their leader. They decided to take a nap till it was time for them to attack. Dosu was grateful for the silence.

* * *

Sasuke had sensed that he was being watched. _It must be that team that is going to attack us. They've moved closer to us. I think a change of plan is called for. We will wait for them to attack and make them think they have the advantage. I need to tell the others though._ He looked over at the shelter and saw his team mates still sleeping.

Sasuke walked over to Sakura and crouched down beside her, keeping his back to the ones watching, so that they wouldn't be able to see what he was doing. He then put his hand over Sakura's mouth and gently nudged at her to wake her up.

Sakura slowly woke up and opened her eyes. _Why is Sasuke over me with his hand on my mouth?_ Sakura then remembered where she was and waited to see what Sasuke wanted.

Sasuke whispered to her. "Sakura, we're being watched. I think it's the ones that were planning to attack us."

Sakura nodded her head.

"I've decided that we will wait till they attack us, but we will still have the element of surprise. You and Naruto will pretend to be asleep when they come for us. Okay?"

Sakura nodded again.

"I'm going to give them a distraction soon and that is the time you wake Naruto and tell him our plan. Make sure the dobe doesn't make any noises, okay?"

Sakura again nodded her head.

"Good. Also make sure he knows we work as a team and I will fight the leader. You two can decide on which one you want to fight, but you, Sakura, should take the weakest. Don't get yourself killed."

Sakura again nodded her head. _He thinks I'm so weak. Why can't he appreciate me more?_

Sasuke let go of her mouth and she then closed her eyes and waited for the distraction that he would create.

Sasuke walked a little away from the camp in the direction of where he felt the other team was hiding. He started throwing shuriken at a tree, he then started jumping into the air and turning his body around in a circle, while airborne, throwing several shuriken at different trees, making the shuriken practice more challenging. He was hoping that the other team would be focused on him alone, since he was their primary target. He kept up the training exercise, to provide time for Sakura to be able to do her part.

Sakura saw what Sasuke was doing and knew it was her cue. She scooted herself slowly over to Naruto, and when she got close enough she rolled herself to face him. She put her hand over his mouth and shook his head with the same hand she had over his mouth.

Naruto jerked, but Sakura quickly whispered into his ear. "Naruto, it's me Sakura, don't move."

Naruto stayed still and waited.

"The team you told us about is close by. Sasuke-kun said we would wait for them to attack us. You and I have to pretend to be sleeping when it happens. Then we surprise them and attack them back. Sasuke-kun says he's going to fight their leader and you and I will fight the other two. Okay?"

_Why does Sasuke always get to show off! I should get to fight the leader! Damn that bastard!_ Naruto nodded at Sakura despite his bad mood.

Sakura took her hand off Naruto's mouth and rolled over onto her back again and pretended to be asleep.

Naruto pretended too. He just hoped that the attack would come soon. He was going to show that Sasuke-teme just who was the strongest. Naruto decided to listen to the enemy team. He focused chakra to his ears. He could hear what sounded like thuds hitting a tree nearby. _What is that?_ Then he heard whispered voices.

"Dosu, that kid is so close. We should get him now."

"Zaku, I am tired of repeating myself. Now just shut up."

_Hmm, Dosu and Zaku. Hey I remember now who these guys are. They're the sound team that attacked Kabuto before the first test started. Those guys looked pretty tough. Whatever that one bandaged-up dude did to Kabuto, it made him throw up. But Kabuto seemed to be okay after that. What kind of technique did that guy use anyway? Well I guess the key to fighting him is not to let him get too close. I don't know what the other two can do though. I hope they are a challenge!_ Naruto was so excited that he could hardly keep himself still.

_Well, if Sasuke-teme gets hurt I can rescue him! hehehe Then I can be the hero._ Naruto smiled. Then realized he was supposed to be pretending to sleep. _Oh well, people smile in their sleep, don't they?_

* * *

They attacked at dawn.

Sasuke pretended to be surprised and moved closer to where his team mates were.

"Afraid, little boy?" Kin mocked Sasuke for his retreat.

"I'll take care of him." Zaku then put his arms out in front of him and opened his palms towards Sasuke.

Naruto jumped up and ran in front of Sasuke. When Zaku started to blow air of his hands, Naruto did something he didn't know he could do. He just reacted by instinct. He forced a huge amount of chakra out of his body and shot it towards the sound ninja.

It deflected the burst of air, that Zaku had been blowing out of his hands, back at Zaku and it also caused the other two sound ninja, as well as Zaku, to be blown backwards into the air.

Sakura, who had jumped up after Naruto had, stared with amazement at the fallen sound ninja.

Sasuke who had activated his Sharingan, had seen the huge wave of chakra that had come out of Naruto and hit the other team. He was in shock and it even showed on his face.

Naruto was shocked himself, but recovered more quickly than his team mates and rushed over to the stunned sound ninja and before they could recover and get up, he hit each of them hard over the head. He had infused his fist with enough chakra, that it was like the sound ninja were hit with a sledge hammer. They were all knocked out.

Naruto turned to his stunned team mates and grinned. "Hey you guys wasn't that cool! These guys weren't as tough as they looked!"

Sasuke came out of his shock and frowned at Naruto. _What the hell just happened? Damn it, damn it, damn it! How can an idiot like him be so strong?_

Sakura was speechless too for a moment. _Naruto beat them so easily and quickly._ She looked at Sasuke. _Sasuke isn't taking this too well. But Naruto did make this easier for us._ She smiled at Naruto even though she was worried about Sasuke. "That was amazing, Naruto. How did you do it?"

Naruto had gotten the scroll from the other team and then decided he should tie them up so that they couldn't come after them too quickly, when they woke up later. He looked up at Sakura's words.

"Thanks Sakura-chan! It just came to me. I just knew what I had to do." _I guess this is how I am going to learn what I can do. Things will just pop into my head when needed._ Naruto got up from the ground after he finished tying up the sound ninja, then he walked over to his team mates. _That Sasuke-teme hasn't said a word. Not even a thanks! Why can't he ever acknowledge me?_

_I can't let this get to me. I will not show that dobe that I'm upset about his new abilities. I need to control myself better._ "Well, dobe. Time for you to find us the other scroll we need. Which one did that team have?"

"It was an earth one. You want me to look for other teams now?" Naruto was glad that Sasuke was speaking again, but he was still frustrated that Sasuke didn't acknowledge what Naruto had done for their team. _I feel like he's just using me. Why does he have to be this way?_

"Of course dobe, we don't have time to play around." Sasuke gave Naruto an exasperated look, like he thought the blond was being stupid.

This annoyed Naruto. "Don't call me that, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto turned away from Sasuke and faced in the direction that he thought the tower would be. Then he focused enough chakra in his eyes so he could see what was ahead. He continued to focus as much chakra to his eyes that was needed until he was able to see another team. The team he saw was Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino. _Nope I like Shikamaru and Chouji, I don't want to take their scroll._

Naruto turned towards the right to see if he could find a team in that direction. _Found one!_ _Hmm, I don't know those guys. Let me see what scroll they have._ Naruto looked at the pouches of each of the other team's members. He was able to see into the pouches. _Nope, they have an earth scroll too. Damn it!_

Naruto then looked to the left of where Shikamaru's team had been. _Ahhh, that will do! Those guys look creepy too. Hey, I remember them! One of them tied me up before. Back when we first entered the forest. Time for revenge!_

"Found one! They are in that direction almost 2 miles from our location. They aren't moving so they must be taking a break right now." Naruto released the chakra from his eyes and turned to his team mates.

Sakura jumped up and down in excitement. "That is great news, isn't it Sasuke-kun?" She was smiling at Sasuke.

Sasuke ignored Sakura. "Okay, let's clean up the camp then head for their location. You are sure they have the heaven scroll, Naruto?"

"Yep! And one of them was the one that attacked us when we first got into this forest. So we can pay him back." Naruto grinned wickedly.

"He was weak anyway! Sasuke-kun beat him easily." Sakura smiled proudly at Sasuke.

"...Hn." Sasuke walked away from his team mates and headed back to their camp. He put out the fire. Then they all headed further into the forest, with Naruto leading the way to where the other team was.

* * *

When they got close enough to the rain ninja that were their targets, Sasuke motioned for them all to stop.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. _Well I might as well use him. Ninjas are tools and there is no reason that Sakura and I should fight if Naruto can take care of them easily by himself. I don't like doing it this way, but it's the most practical way for us to do it._ "Naruto, you don't need our help with them, do you?"

Naruto looked with surprise at Sasuke. _He's going to let me do this alone? Is this really Sasuke?_ Naruto decided not to question Sasuke's motives. "Well, just like with those sound ninja, I think I will know how to fight them when they attack me. I can do this by myself. It would be safer for our team anyway. Especially for Sakura-chan."

_Naruto is making it sound as if I'm useless! But I can't fight like him or Sasuke-kun. I wish I could be of more help to them._ "Thank you for thinking of me, Naruto. I know I am weak." Sakura had her head down when she said it.

"Oh no, Sakura-chan! I wasn't calling you weak. I just don't want to see you get hurt, when you don't have to." Naruto was felt regret at hurting Sakura-chan's feelings.

"Dobe, just get it over with." Sasuke glared at Naruto for wasting time. _Naruto's crush on Sakura is so annoying sometimes. It's bad enough I have to deal with Sakura fawning all over me all the time. But to have to watch Naruto doing the same to her, it just pisses me off._

Naruto glared back at Sasuke. "Don't call me that, Sasuke-teme!" Then Naruto left the others and headed to where the rain ninja were hiding.

_Maybe I should have let Sasuke handle them. I don't want Sakura-chan to hate me, because I'm making Sasuke look weak. But he does deserve it! All these years everyone praises him all the time and give him all their attention. He has always been loved by everyone. While I have been hated and treated like I was useless. Now it's time for me to get all the attention. I shouldn't be feeling sorry for Sasuke-teme anyway._ Naruto jumped down in a clearing and faced the direction where he could see the rain ninja were hiding at.

He had released his chakra enhanced eyesight before when he and his team mates had stopped, then had to re-enhance it again before he left them to confront the enemy team. He didn't attack the rain ninja right away. He wanted them to think they had the upper hand.

Oboro, Mubi and Kagari looked down at Naruto.

"Lucky. Now I can get revenge." Oboro wanted to kill Naruto because of what his team mate, Sasuke, had done to him. Sasuke had stabbed Oboro in the shoulder, when Oboro had tried to get their scroll from them, a couple days ago. The wound was still causing him some pain.

"Where are his team mates?" Kagari was suspicious that Naruto would be alone.

"It doesn't matter right now. We'll deal with them later. We'll take out the blond now. Mubi, create about 30 clones."

Mubi did as ordered by his team mate and soon Naruto was surrounded by clones.

_So they like using clones too, eh?_ Naruto laughed. _Hey, this will give me a chance to try out something new!_ Then the idea of taking control of the clones came to him. _My father said with the bloodline limit, I could take control of other people's ninjutsus. How do I do that though?_ _Oh, the chakra!_

Naruto looked at the clones and realized he would have to touch one of them in order to get to it's chakra. _Wait! I could send out chakra from my hand to touch it. Just like when I created the wave of chakra from my body before._ Naruto concentrated on sending out a rope of chakra from his hand and raised his hand up to face the closet clone. He sent the rope of chakra into the clone's chest to touch the chakra within it. Then he took control of the clone like it was a puppet and he the puppet master.

He was then able to send his own chakra from the one clone to the other clones by using the connection they had to each other. _Hey, I'll just steal all the chakra from all the clones!_ Naruto forced all the clones to disappear by pulling the chakra out of them back to himself, through his chakra rope. Naruto then released the chakra from his eyes.

This surprised the rain ninja. They had never seen anyone be able to do something like that before. They had no idea that a technique like that even existed.

Before they could think to do anything else, Naruto appeared behind them and yelled out. "Boo!"

The ninja jumped and then turned around to attack Naruto, but they weren't quick enough. Naruto had filled his right fist with chakra and quickly knocked each of them out of the tree they had been in. Then he jumped down to where they had fallen and got the heaven scroll out of Oboro's pouch.

Naruto jumped up and down in excitement. "I did it! I did it! I got us the second scroll! He kept bouncing around the fallen rain ninja, sometimes landing on their bodies.

Sasuke sighed. _He is always so loud. And now he's going to be bragging even more. Granted he has reason to, this time. But still, it's annoying._

Sasuke and Sakura jumped down into the clearing to where their team mate was bouncing around, acting like a five year old.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's antics though. _He looks so funny bouncing around like that! But, someone needs to calm him down._ Sakura went over to Naruto and hit him on the top of his head.

"Ow! Sakura-chaaan! Why did you do that?" Naruto rubbed his head where he had been hit, his bottom lip pushed out in a pout.

"You were acting crazy and you were being too loud." Sakura forced herself to frown at him, but she was happy inside. _We have both scrolls now. Now all we have to do is get to the tower._

"Dobe, lead us to the tower." Sasuke was in a hurry to get this second test over with. _In the third test, we will get to fight as individuals. Then I will be able to test my strength without the dobe getting in the way. I really hate that Naruto has all this power now. I miss the old dobe. The weak one._

"Hmmph! What's the hurry, Sasuke-teme? And don't call me a dobe, dammit!" Naruto glared at Sasuke.

"There is no reason for us to waste anymore time, dobe. We have what we need and the last step is to get to the tower."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Naruto glared at Sasuke again, then realized he was right about them needing to go to the tower now. "Okay, I'll look to see what direction we need to go in." Naruto enhanced his sight again and looked for the tower. When he found it, he released the chakra from his eyes.

"Okay, I know where it is. Follow me." Naruto then took off in the direction of the tower. He was now in a hurry to get there. He wanted to talk to the Hokage and hoped he would have time to do it before the third test began.

Sasuke and Sakura took off after Naruto and stayed close behind him.

TBC


	4. Kabuto learns something interesting

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

I just want to address some of the reviews that mention Sasuke's attitude. As I said above, the final pairing is SasuNaru, but it's not going to happen for quite a while in this story. The reason being is that, not only are they a little too young now, but Sasuke has some growing up to do, just like Naruto and the other characters do. They will all be growing and changing throughout this story.

This will be a long story. But I will skip years when it is needed. I'm not going to go into details about what will bring Sasuke and Naruto together later, because whatever I have planned for this story now, may change in details as I keep writing it. Sometimes different ideas come into my mind to change what happens in the story from what I had been planning for it. I hope this explanation clears up some of the questions and the doubts about Sasuke's character. I want to thank all the reviewers too. Your encouragement keeps me inspired to keep writing. :)

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Four – Kabuto learns something interesting**

As they were traveling to the tower, Naruto's stomach started growling. He stopped and the others stopped beside him. "Um, I'm starving you guys. I need to eat before I can go any further."

Sakura felt hungry too. "I'm hungry too."

"Alright, but we need to make it quick. We don't need to be delayed by other teams trying to get our scrolls. I'll go find us something to eat."

Naruto jumped up and down. "Yay! Hurry Sasuke!" Naruto's stomach growled again and he stopped jumping.

Sasuke went off to hunt for food.

Naruto and Sakura leaped down from the tree they were in. Naruto then looked around for wood to use for a fire. Sakura helped him.

"I hope whatever Sasuke finds is really big, Sakura-chan. I'm so hungry that I could even eat one of those large caterpillar thingies we've seen." _Even if they look gross, my stomach would be happy._

"Eww gross, Naruto! That's disgusting. But I hope he comes back with something big too. Otherwise you'd steal most of the food and I'd starve." She teased her blond friend.

"I wouldn't do that to you, Sakura-chan!" _Well, I might. _Naruto looked away trying to hide the guilty look on his face.

Sasuke walked up to them, holding a large rabbit. He tossed it to Naruto. "Here, you skin and gut it."

"You could ask nicely you know!" Naruto got out a kunai and started to work on skinning the rabbit.

"...Hn."

"You got us a great meal, Sasuke-kun. Thank you!" Sakura smiled at him and then watched Naruto as he skinned the rabbit for them.

Sasuke performed his fire jutsu on the wood that his team mates had set up for their fire. Then he sat down across from them, putting his arms on his knees and folding his hands in front of his face.

Naruto skinned and gutted the rabbit and then used water from his canteen to clean it off.

Sakura took the fur and unneeded parts and put them inside a hole she had dug, then covered it all up. She then helped Naruto as he plunged a thick stick through the rabbit and set it up over the fire to cook.

As the rabbit cooked, no one spoke. They were all spending the time thinking.

Naruto was thinking about what he wanted to ask the Hokage when he got to see him.

Sakura was thinking about what would happen in the third test. She wasn't sure if she would be able to beat any of the other people participating in the exams. _I'm so weak. Even Ino could probably beat me. I wish I had even a little of Naruto's power. Or even Sasuke's skills. Should I even be a ninja if I can't even contribute to my own team?_

Sasuke was thinking about some of the other teams and who they had in them that would be a good challenge for him. _That weird red-head seemed very strong. Then there is the Hyuuga. I can not lose to that weird green spandex-wearing boy. Having him beat me in front of my team mates was bad enough, but to lose to him in front of a lot of other people, would be humiliating._

Sasuke looked up at the rabbit cooking over the fire and saw that it was done enough for them to eat. Since they had nothing with them to put the rabbit on while they ate, Sasuke decided to use small sticks to spear parts of the meat off. He, being courteous for a change, and gave each of his team mates a stick of meat for them to eat.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was happy that Sasuke was being nice to her.

"Yeah, thanks!" Naruto started devouring his portion right away.

"...Hn."

After they had all ate and cleaned up their temporary camp, they got back up in the trees to continue their travel to the tower.

A few minutes after they had started out, Naruto felt the chakra of someone approaching them from behind. He stopped and the others stopped with him. They looked at him wondering why he had stopped.

"Someone is coming. He should be here in a couple minutes or so." Naruto activated the chakra in his eyes and looked for the person that was approaching them.

"Do you know who it is?" Sasuke questioned him.

"Yeah, it's Kabuto!"

"Is he alone?" Sasuke was suspicious of Kabuto. He had felt that Kabuto was not what he appeared, ever since they had all met him at the beginning of the exams.

"Yep, he's alone." Naruto then deactivated his enhanced eyesight.

"I wonder why?" Sakura was curious, but unlike Sasuke, she liked Kabuto.

Kabuto stopped at a branch on the tree right in front of them. He smiled at them."Well, hello my fellow Leaf nin. I see you are heading to the tower too." Kabuto then stared hard at Naruto. "Who are you? What happened to Naruto-kun?"

Naruto and Sakura smiled back at him. Sasuke only grunted, keeping his expression emotionless.

"Hi Kabuto! Well, you see I am Naruto. Something kinda happened to me the other day. It's a long story and we don't have enough time to go into it right now."

"Well, I hope you tell me the whole story when we get to the tower then." Kabuto was very curious about what could have happened to change Naruto's looks. Also, he sensed a difference in the blond's chakra. He sensed great power within Naruto. _No, there is no way he was the one that took off Sasuke's seal. He's still a child. And he appeared as an idiot earlier. _

"Sure, Kabuto. But why are you alone? Something happen to your team?" Naruto looked at him quizzically.

"Oh, we are supposed to meet up at the tower. I needed a longer break than they did and told them to go on ahead." He grinned embarrassingly at them.

"So you have both scrolls?" This question came from Sasuke.

"Yes, right here." Kabuto patted at the pouch on his hips. "How about you guys? You have both your scrolls too?"

"You bet we do! It was easy!" Naruto grinned happily at Kabuto.

Sakura hit Naruto on his shoulder. "Stop bragging you idiot!" Then she turned to smile again at Kabuto.

"I was just telling him the truth, Sakura-chan." Naruto whined and looked hurt.

"So, you guys have been having an easy time in the forest?" Kabuto needed to find out what happened with Sasuke. He didn't have too much time left before he got to the tower and had to report in to Orochimaru.

"Yes." Sasuke answered him. He didn't want Kabuto to get any more information out of them.

"Well, we did get into a fight with this snake man the other day."

"Dobe." Sasuke said under his breath. _Naruto trusts too easily. Why can't he use his brain sometimes!_

"You did? Well you all look okay to me. No one got hurt?" Kabuto made sure he had a concerned look on his face.

"Sasuke-kun got hurt. That man bit him and put some kind of a seal on him." Sakura had no idea that Sasuke didn't want Kabuto to know what happened. Since Kabuto was so nice to them when they first met him, she felt he was a friend to them.

_Oh God! Now Sakura is being stupid too! Can't they see this man is digging for information?_ Sasuke stopped himself from showing his disgust with his team mates. He kept his face impassive and just let them talk.

"A seal? Can I see it, Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto looked at Sasuke.

Before Sasuke could answer, Sakura answered for him. "It's not there anymore, Kabuto. Naruto took it off." Sakura smiled happily at Sasuke. She was so glad that Sasuke wasn't hurt anymore. Then she saw he was glaring at her. _Why is he glaring at me?_

"Yep! I did. But that is part of what I have to tell you later when we get to the tower. We really need to leave now." Naruto wanted to tell Kabuto everything now, but he wanted to get to the tower more. "I hope you don't mind waiting till then."

_Oh my god! Did I really hear them both say that it was Naruto that took off the seal?_ Kabuto was in shock. But he was very good at hiding his emotions, so he kept it from showing on his face. _Well, I'm not going to get any more answers right now. I'll have to be patient and wait till I can speak with them again at the tower. Orochimaru is going to be shocked too. How could this little kid know how to take off the curse seal?_ "Alright, Naruto-kun. I will try to be patient and wait till we get back to the tower. But I am excited to hear your story." He smiled at Naruto.

"Let's go then." Sasuke looked at Naruto and nodded his head towards the direction of the tower.

Naruto nodded back at Sasuke. "Okay." Then Naruto took the lead and the others followed behind him.

* * *

When they got to the tower, Kabuto's team mates were waiting by a door for him. Kabuto looked at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. "Well I guess this is where we part for the time being. I'll see you later inside." Then he looked at Naruto. "I want to hear all about what has happened to you and your adventure with that snake man you mentioned." 

"Sure thing, Kabuto!" Naruto smiled at Kabuto.

"See you later, Kabuto!" Sakura waved at him.

Kabuto smiled at each of them and then opened the door in front of him. He and his team mates went inside and then closed the door behind them. Orochimaru was waiting on them.

"So, Kabuto. What did you find out?"

Kabuto bowed his head to his leader. "You are going to find this hard to believe, Orochimaru-sama, but Uzumaki Naruto was the one that took the curse seal off of Sasuke-kun."

Orochimaru was shocked. But he kept himself smiling normally at his subordinate. "You don't say. Do you know how he did it?" _That fox child took off my seal! I should have killed him when I had the chance!_

"Not yet. They were in too much of a hurry to get here, so they wouldn't tell me the whole story. But Naruto-kun promised to tell me later. His appearance has changed."

"I know about his appearance changing. It happened when I put a seal on his demon's seal. It was to keep him from being able to use the fox's chakra." _Did the seal I put on him have anything to do with how he was able to take off my curse seal? I don't see how that could be. It was supposed to make him weaker, not stronger._

_Hmm, I wonder if that is what changed Naruto on the inside too. Allowing him to become something different. This is an interesting twist to things. It would be a shame to kill Naruto without knowing what he is now. _"Ahh, so that is why he looks different. It could have done something else to him, too."

"Find out everything you can about Naruto-kun's new abilities. I did want him killed, but it may be that he will be of some use to me, after all."

"I will do as you order, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto bowed to him, thinking their conversation was now over.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Kabuto?" Orochimaru put his hand out with his palm facing up.

Kabuto mentally slapped himself for forgetting. "Oh, I'm sorry Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto then reached into his pouch and pulled out the deck of cards that he used to record information on. Then he handed it to his leader. "Inside is everything you wanted to know about Sasuke-kun."

"Thank you, Kabuto. As always, you never fail to accomplish the tasks, I request of you." He smiled at his favorite subordinate and then disappeared.

TBC


	5. In the tower

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Five** – **In the tower**

After Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke walked through their own door leading into the tower, Sasuke forced himself to count to ten in his head. _Okay, I think I can do this now._ "Naruto, Sakura."

Both his team mates turned around and looked at him.

"We need to talk before we go any further. Just listen to what I have to say, it's important." Sasuke paused to make sure they were listening. "From now on, we need to keep the truth about Naruto's new abilities, the demon fox, and who his parents are, secret from everyone else."

"Hey! What a second! It's my secret to tell. Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei should be told the truth about who my parents were. The Hokage knows anyway." Naruto didn't understand why Sasuke wanted it to remain a secret. He thought maybe it was part of Sasuke's jealousy for him.

"Dobe, what your father did to you when you were a baby was done for a reason. If he wanted everyone to know, he wouldn't have hid your identity."

"Oh." _I guess Sasuke's right._

"Sasuke-kun is right Naruto." Sakura supported her crush.

"You are going to talk to the Hokage soon, you can ask him who should be told the truth. Another thing I want to tell you both right now, don't trust Kabuto."

"What! Why not you bastard!" Naruto glared at Sasuke.

Sakura hit Naruto over the head. "Don't call Sasuke-kun a bastard!"

"Ow!" Naruto rubbed his head and then pouted at Sakura. "But Sakura-chan, you like Kabuto too."

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "Why don't you want us to trust Kabuto, Sasuke-kun?"

"Because I think he's up to something. The way he approached us before the first test was suspicious. He was too friendly."

"How can someone be too friendly, Sasuke? That doesn't make any sense!" Naruto was back to glaring at Sasuke.

"Just trust me. He's not what he seems. So be very careful about what you say around him. Just make up some story about why you look different, and we need to also think up a way that you were able to take the seal off me." Sasuke tried to think of what story they could use.

"Sasuke-kun, maybe we could just tell Kabuto that we were playing around with him."

"What do you mean, Sakura?"

"Like it was a joke. We could say the whole snake man story is a joke." Sakura waited to see what Sasuke thought about it.

"That is a good idea, Sakura. I think that will work for the seal part. But what about Naruto's appearance?"

"A henge?"

"That would only work if he was not able to tell a henge from the real thing, Sakura." Sasuke was stumped on what they could use as an excuse.

"Also, would I have been under a regular henge for 12 years?" Naruto didn't think that would fly as an explanation.

"Damn!" Sasuke was getting angry that none of them could come up with a rational explanation.

"Wait! I know!" Sakura looked excited.

"What?" Both Sasuke and Naruto asked.

"Naruto ,is there anyway for you to make yourself look like you did before? Make it look so real that no one can tell it's a henge?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto hoping that he could.

"Huh? Well, maybe I could for most people, but Kakashi has the Sharingan and the Hyuuga's have the Byakugan. So Kakashi, Hinata and that boy that looks like Hinata will be able to see right through it."

"Hmm, maybe if you practice while I watch you with the Sharingan we may be able to see if you can do it, without me being able to see through it. But you're right about the Hyuuga's. They will be able to see your chakra pathways and notice your chakra is different. But maybe they won't be able to figure out why. It's worth a chance anyway."

"Sasuke-kun is right. Naruto try changing yourself to look like you did before."

"Okay."

For an hour, Naruto kept working on a henge that Sasuke wouldn't be able to see through. He finally got it right.

"That's it, Naruto. Just stay like that." Sasuke felt very tired from having to keep his Sharingan activated so long.

"That is great, Naruto!" Sakura smiled happily at Naruto.

"Thanks!" Naruto smiled and then he noticed that Sasuke didn't look well. "What's wrong Sasuke?"

"Nothing, using the Sharingan this long puts a huge drain on my chakra."

Naruto then remembered something his father had told him he could do. "Sasuke I can help you."

"I don't need your help, dobe."

"Stop calling me that! I remembered that I can fill other people's chakra pathways with chakra." Naruto then grinned at Sasuke. "So, you still don't need any help?"

"Sasuke-kun, let Naruto help you. You'll feel better."

_Great, he's just full of surprises._ Sasuke thought sarcastically. "Alright, go ahead." Sasuke walked up closer to Naruto.

Naruto activated his enhanced eyesight and then he put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He then pushed some of his own chakra into Sasuke's chakra pathways. Naruto had an enormous supply of his own chakra and even if he hadn't, he could have used the chakra from anything else that was around him, that had chakra in it.

Naruto's own chakra had the ability to stabilize other chakra it came in contact with. That is why Sasuke's body could handle having Naruto's chakra in it without any problems.

When Naruto was finished, he deactivated his enhanced eyesight and then took his hand off of Sasuke, smiling at him. "Feel better now?"

Sasuke did feel better. He even felt a bit stronger than he had ever felt before. _It must be his chakra making me feel this way._ "Yes." Then Sasuke paused and said, "Thank you."

_Sasuke said thank you? What is the world coming to!_ Naruto just smiled. "You're welcome, Sasuke." Then he remembered the scrolls. "Hey, we need to read the scrolls now, don't we?"

"Yeah! Get them out, Naruto." Sakura went over to Naruto and took one of the scrolls that he got out of his pouch.

Both Naruto and Sakura opened the scrolls at the same time and read them.

"Um, it says something about a summoning here." Sakura was about to read more but Sasuke interrupted her.

"Throw the scrolls down now!"

The urgency in his voice caused both Sakura and Naruto to obey without question. They hurriedly threw the scrolls away from themselves. Then all of a sudden smoke started coming out of the scrolls. A man appeared before them.

"It's Iruka-sensei!" Naruto was excited to see his old teacher.

Iruka smiled at his former students. "Looks like you guys made it. I'm proud of you."

Sakura and Naruto smiled with fondness at Iruka. Sasuke just looked at him with no expression on his face.

"What are you doing here, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto was curious about why he would be the one to show up.

"Well, I told your instructor, Anko, that I wanted to be the one to greet your team if you finished the second test correctly. I guess I'll have to treat you to ramen in celebration later, Naruto."

"Ramen! Hey can we go now?" Naruto danced around in joy.

"No! Naruto stop dancing around. I said later." Iruka looked sternly at Naruto, but inside he was laughing at his favorite student's behavior. _I'm very glad that being in these Chuunin Exams hasn't changed Naruto too much._

Naruto stopped dancing and looked at his former teacher.

"Now, the exams are only going to get much harder from here on out. You will be on your own when you go up against other people. I want all three of you to make it through this, without getting yourselves seriously injured or killed." He looked at Naruto the longest as he said this.

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei! I'm not a kid anymore, I'm a ninja now." Naruto raised his hand and moved his hitai-ate up and down. "You were the one that gave me this forehead protector, remember?"

Iruka sighed. "Yes, I remember and you are right. You are growing up and I have faith that you will make a great chuunin in the future." He then smiled at Naruto. "Well, all of you have passed this second test and you are now free to go upstairs and find yourselves a room to rest in. Don't forget to sign in at the desk in the next room. It's through the door behind me."

Naruto walked up to Iruka and hugged him. "Thanks Iruka-sensei! I'll see you later okay?"

Iruka hugged him back then released him and stepped back. "Yes, you will see me again later. Good luck to all of you in the third test." He then smiled at them and watched as all three walked through the door that lead to the center of the tower.

* * *

After the three had signed in, they headed upstairs to find rooms for themselves. Tomorrow afternoon at three would be the time that the second test was officially over and after all teams that have arrived by then, signed in, the third test would begin.

Naruto had asked one of the chuunin sitting at the sign-in desk if the Hokage was anywhere around. The chuunin, named Kotetsu, told Naruto that he was in the tower and when Naruto asked to see him, the chuunin told him he would let the Hokage know that he wanted to see him. Naruto had to be satisfied with that.

Naruto was happy that he didn't see Kabuto anywhere and had managed to get to his room before he could run into him. _Tomorrow is the big day! But since I have to keep my secret I won't be able to use any of my new skills. That sucks!_

Naruto waited for a few hours for the Hokage to show up, but he didn't. So Naruto decided to go find some food.

As he headed downstairs, he bumped into the red-haired Sand nin. "Oh, sorry!"

Gaara turned to glare at the blond, but then stopped and stared at him.

_Why is he staring at me? I said I was sorry!_ "Hey, Gaara wasn't it? Why are you staring at me?" Naruto glared at him.

_Shukaku is telling me that this boy has a demon in him too. Something called the Kyuubi. He is also telling me this boy does not really look like he appears to be._ Gaara looked more closely at the blond.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! What's wrong with you?" Naruto was getting angry that the red head was still staring at him and wouldn't talk.

"You are like me."

"Huh? What do you mean I'm like you?" Naruto was puzzled.

"You have the Kyuubi in you."

_How does he know that?_ "Um, I don't know what you're talking about. What's a kyuubi?" _Maybe if I play dumb he'll go away._

"Don't lie. I know you do. I have a demon in me too."

_Say what! Oh no, he is like me._ "Hey, let's go to my room and talk about this. I don't think we should talk out here where anyone could hear us."

"Okay."

_Wow, this guy sure doesn't like to use too many words!_ "Okay, um, follow me." Naruto then lead the Sand nin to his room and after they got inside, he locked his door. Then he moved over to sit on his bed. "You can sit in that chair over there." He pointed to the chair.

Gaara stayed standing and just stared at Naruto.

_Geez, what is up with this guy!_ "Um, okay. Well I just wanted you to know, that only the people that were alive over 12 years ago and were old enough to understand, know that the Kyuubi is sealed inside me. So I don't want this to get out to anyone else."

"Why?"

"Why! Because a lot of the people that know about me, hate me. They think I'm a monster. Even though I'm just the container, not the demon itself. I don't need any more people hating me."

Gaara thought about that. He, too, had grown up feared and hated. Hearing people call him a monster. He was used to it by now. "Why do you hide your true appearance. You are using a henge aren't you?"

_How the heck does he know that?_ Naruto looked with surprise at Gaara.

"Shukaku told me. He can tell you do not really look like that."

_Wow, now what do I say?_ Naruto had no idea what he could say that would explain why he was in a henge. He was quiet a few moments, then decided to just tell the truth. This guy has a demon in him too, and he must have went through the same pain growing up as I did. I can actually see the pain in his eyes, even though he hides it well. "Okay, can I trust you?"

_Trust me? No one has ever asked me that before._

Naruto could see the question in Gaara's eyes. _He doesn't know what trust is?_ "Gaara, have you ever had a friend or someone you cared a lot about?"

"No, I've never had a friend. I did think Yashamaru cared about me. He took care of me when I was small. But then he tried to kill me."

_Whoa! We are alike! I have friends now, but when I was younger I was alone. The Hokage would visit me and he treated me well. But he was too busy to visit me a lot._ _And some people did try to kill me too._ "You are like me, Gaara. But now I have friends. I would fight and die if I had to, for my friends. I would like to be your friend, if you let me." Naruto looked at Gaara with sincerity in his eyes.

_He wants to be my friend. But it's too late now for me, isn't it? No one ever wanted to be my friend before. Is this what he meant by trust? I have to trust that he would be my friend._ "Yes."

"Is that a yes that I can be your friend?"

"Yes."

"Great!" Naruto jumped up and ran to the red head and gave him a hug.

_He's touching me. The sand didn't try to stop him._ Gaara didn't hug back, but he didn't push Naruto away either.

Naruto realized his new friend wasn't hugging him back. _Oh well, maybe he just needs to get used to it._ Naruto let go of Gaara and moved back a little. He looked at Gaara's face and noticed for the first time that the lines around the red head's eyes looked like they were caused by tiredness, or that Gaara didn't sleep well.

"Don't you get much sleep?"

"I don't sleep."

"Why not?" _How can anyone not sleep?_

"If I sleep, then Shukaku will take over completely and I will be lost."

"How could he do that? I can sleep, the fox can't take over me in my sleep."

"It must be a different kind of seal then."

"Oh...well that is just horrible!" _I wish I could do something to help him. But I can't take his seal off. That would kill him. It's not like the seal Sasuke had. But...what if I separated his demon's chakra from his own. And then put up a chakra barrier around the demon, so that it couldn't get out and take over Gaara?_

"Hey Gaara?"

"Yes?"

"I may be able to help you with your demon. So that you can sleep."

"Shukaku doesn't like that idea. But I do."

Naruto laughed. "Okay, this is where you need to trust me."

"I trust you."

_Wow! This guy is really weird! He already trusts me and he hasn't known me that long at all. Well, I'm glad for it anyway._ "Thanks! Okay, I'm going to touch you and you need to be patient and wait till I tell you I'm finished. Okay?"

"Okay."

Naruto felt like laughing again at his new friend, but he didn't want to offend him. Naruto put his right hand on Gaara's left shoulder then Naruto activated his enhanced sight, so he could look more deeper within Gaara. He was searching all the chakra pathways and isolating where the demon's chakra was mixed up with the red heads. He was also searching for where the demon was at. There would be a larger source of demon chakra where it was located.

When Naruto finally found where the demon was sealed, he started pushing all the demon's chakra that he had collected from Gaara's chakra pathways to the demon. Once he was sure that all the demon's chakra was in one place, he pushed some of his own chakra into Gaara, so that he could build a strong barrier around the demon. Once Naruto was sure that the barrier was too strong for the demon's chakra to get out of it, he deactivated his enhanced eyesight and then looked into Gaara's eyes.

"I'm finished. You can sleep now." Naruto smiled at Gaara.

_He did it. Shukaku is very quiet now. I can barely feel his presence. And I feel stronger. I feel good._ Gaara stared into Naruto's eyes with awe. Then he put his own hand on Naruto's, the one that was still on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Naruto's smile got wider. "You're welcome. That is what friends are for you know, to help each other out."

"Friend." Gaara smiled.

"Yes."

"Now tell me why you look like that?"

Naruto stopped smiling. Then sighed. "Well, it's a long story."

TBC


	6. Friendship

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

**I rewrote Chapter One of this story because it really needed it. An anonymous reviewer suggested it and I agreed with their suggestion. It was a big rewrite, but doesn't affect the other chapters really, although it does provide more information.**

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Six** - **Friendship**

After Naruto had told Gaara the story that his father had related to him in a dream, the two boys left the room and went downstairs to find something eat.

_Gaara is a really good listener! He didn't even ask many questions. All he asked me was how long was I was going to stay in my henge and when I was going to let other people know what I could do. Too bad that I don't even know the answers to those questions myself._ Naruto was glad that he now had Gaara to hang out with. The red head was the only person he felt he could relate to. That could really understand him.

_Naruto is so interesting. He smiles a lot too. I've never met anyone that smiles as much as he does. He makes me feel less lonely. I don't even have the urge to kill anyone right now._ Gaara looked at his only friend as they entered the dining area. _I think this is what being happy must feel like._ Gaara would have smiled at his friend, but he noticed that they weren't alone anymore.

"Hey Naruto!" Chouji had been the only one at his table to see Naruto enter. He didn't know who the red-haired Sand nin was, but he was curious about why he would be with the blond.

The others that were sitting with him at the table, included Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Shino and Kiba. When Kiba and his team mates saw the red head, they froze in fear.

_Please don't come sit at our table!_ Kiba was chanting this over and over again in his head.

Hinata felt fear that the murderous Sand nin was standing near her crush, Naruto. _I hope he doesn't hurt Naruto!_

Shino was contemplating whether to leave right then and go back up to his room.

Naruto looked over and saw the others after he heard Chouji's greeting. "Hey Chouji! Hey guys!"

"Who's your new friend, Naruto?" Chouji asked without knowing that some at his table were now screaming at him in their heads.

Naruto looked at Gaara and smiled. "This is my friend, Gaara. We're both starving and wanted to eat." Naruto then headed over to the food buffet that was located at the opposite side of the room from his other friends. Gaara followed behind him.

While Naruto and Gaara were filling their plates with food, Shino and Kiba took the opportunity to leave.

"See you guys later." Kiba said this quickly as he rushed out the door.

Shino had already left right before without saying good bye.

Hinata wished she could leave too, but she didn't want to leave Naruto while the red head was still there. _I must find a way to warn Naruto-kun about his new friend._

Sakura and Ino were busy arguing about Sasuke and didn't notice the tension that had been in the air.

Shikamaru had noticed though. He had seen the fear in Kiba's eyes and the behavior of him and Shino was suspicious. He also noticed that Hinata seemed paler than normal. _I wonder if something happened between that Sand nin and their team in the forest. Maybe they fought?_

Naruto asked Gaara if he wanted to sit with his friends or sit alone at their own table.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather we sit alone."

"Okay, Gaara. Whatever you are comfortable with." Naruto found an empty table that was a little away from his friends and sat down.

Gaara sat down next to him.

Chouji looked at Shikamaru. "I wonder why they won't sit with us?"

"I have no idea, maybe they want to talk alone."

"I was hoping to find out more about that Gaara guy. He looks a little strange, but Naruto called him a friend so he must not be that bad." Chouji then started eating again.

"Yes, I'm curious about that Gaara too. Maybe we can find out more about him later." _I want to know why Kiba, Shino and Hinata seem to fear him. It's so troublesome._

After Naruto and Gaara had finished eating, Naruto said good bye to the others and then both boys went back up to Naruto's room to talk a little more.

* * *

"You know, I think Sasuke really wants to fight you, Gaara. I think he sees you as being really strong."

"He has eyes like I used to have."

"What do you mean?"

"He wants to kill someone."

"Sasuke's not a killer, Gaara! He can be mean sometimes and glare at people but I really don't think he's all that bad." _Except for being a bastard sometimes._

"It's what I see when I look in his eyes. It could be that he only wants to kill one person."

_The Wave Country mission, I remember what he said then._ "Well, he did tell me that he wanted to kill his brother. He told that to me when he and I both thought he was going to die on a mission we were on. I don't know why he wants to do that though. He never told me that. He's not one for sharing things about himself."

_The Uchiha wants to kill his own brother? Well there were times when I wanted to kill mine. Even my sister. But I'm glad now that I didn't. I'm not sure I want to kill anyone anymore. I would do it to save Naruto though._

There was a knock on the door. Naruto got up and went to his door and opened it.

"Old man! Why did you take so long to come and see me!" Naruto was happy that the Third Hokage had finally shown up. But he was a little peeved that it took him all day to do it.

The Hokage smiled down at the blond. "Hello Naruto, are you going to make me stand out in the hall?"

"Oh, no, come in!" Naruto moved aside and let the Hokage walk into the room.

The old man saw Gaara sitting in a chair. He smiled at the boy. "Well hello there. Naruto, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Naruto walked over and stood beside the old man. "This is Gaara. Gaara this is the Hokage."

"Hello." Gaara greeted the man but without any emotions showing on his face.

_Hmm, another Sasuke._ The Hokage smiled at Gaara again. "It's nice to meet you, young man."

"Um, I don't have any other chairs in my room, you can sit beside me on the bed, can't you old man?"

Gaara got up from his chair to offer it to the Hokage.

"No, no, sit back down, young man. I can sit with Naruto on his bed. I'm sure it is comfortable enough." The Hokage waved at Gaara and sat beside Naruto on the bed and then looked at the blond. "Now what was so important that you needed to see me during the exams?"

"I had a dream of my father and he told me the truth about him and my mother. I know about the Amarutsu clan and it's bloodline limit."

The old man was shocked and stared at Naruto with surprise all over his face. "Shouldn't you wait till your friend leaves before we discuss this further?"

"No, I already told Gaara everything. So what you say to me, he won't repeat to anyone. I trust him."

The Hokage looked at Gaara. Gaara nodded to him. Then the old man sighed and looked back at Naruto. "That dream you had, you wouldn't have had it unless something happened to the fox's chakra."

"Well me, Sasuke and Sakura were attacked by this man that looked like a snake and he put some kind of extra seal on me that blocks me from being able to use the fox's chakra."

"Looked like a snake?" _Could this have been Orochimaru?_

"Yeah, he summoned snakes and could even transform himself into some kind of half snake himself."

"Alright, so what happened after he put that seal on you?"

"Well, my appearance changed. My father told me in the dream that he put some kind of kinjutsu on me when I was a baby that made me look different."

"Then why do you look the way you always looked, now?"

"Oh! Well I'm in an henge right now."

_Hmm, he must have the Seichuu Chakra bloodline limit already, because I am unable to tell that he is using a henge._ "So you have the bloodline limit?"

"Yes I do. I've been able to do a lot of things I could never do before. But I wanted to talk to you about my parents, old man. What was my mother like?"

The Sandaime smiled. "She was very beautiful and a very loving person. Everyone she met, loved her."

"They did?"

"Yes. I think your father fell in love with her as soon as he met her. He used to follow her around like a puppy all the time." The old man laughed.

"What about my father? What was he like?"

"Well, you remind me of him a lot. When he was young he liked to play pranks on people too. But he also was a caring man. He would do anything for his village and the people he cared about." The Hokage had a sad smile on his face now. "I miss him and your mother a lot. They both died so young."

Naruto felt sadness then too. _I wish I could see my father again. And I want to see my mother too. I wish I could have grown up with them._

Gaara saw the sadness on his friend's face and wished there was something he could do to make him feel better. His own mother died when he was born. His father was still alive, but he hated Gaara and had tried to kill him many times.

"Well, any more questions, young man?"

Naruto looked up. "How long do I have to keep hiding who I am?"

"Hmm, well you are older now. But I'm concerned about that man that attacked you and your team. I don't know if it would be wise right now for him to know the truth about you. I think I know who he is and he's a very dangerous man."

"Who is it?"

"I think he is Orochimaru."

"That name sounds familiar! Oh, he is the one that ordered the Sound team to kill Sasuke."

"How do you know this?"

"Well I overheard them saying it and they attacked us."

"I suppose your team won the fight?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah you should have been there! I used a huge wave of chakra that I pushed out of my body and threw it right at them. Took them down easy." Naruto was grinning.

"I wish I had seen that." The Hokage grinned back at him. _He's already learning how to use his new skills in different ways. But he's exposing himself by doing it._ "Naruto, can you wait a little longer before you let any more people know the truth about you?"

"I guess, but it's so frustrating knowing I can't be who I really am."

"It won't be for very much longer. Let's wait till the Chuunin Exams are over and then we will start to let others know. Will that be alright with you?"

"Okay. If you think I should wait till then, I will. Just not any longer than that!" Naruto didn't want to pretend any longer than he had to.

"Alright, well I need to go now, Naruto. I have some important things I have to do. I'll talk with you again soon." The Hokage got up from the bed.

Naruto stood up too. "Okay, good night." Then he hugged the old man.

The Hokage hugged him back and then when Naruto let go of him he turned to face Gaara. "It was nice meeting you, Gaara. Maybe next time we meet, we can talk."

"Good night, Hokage-sama." Gaara showed respect to the Hokage now. He saw how Naruto cared about the old man and the man cared about Naruto too.

The Hokage smiled at Gaara and then headed to the door.

Naruto walked behind him and when the old man had left, he shut the door. Then he turned to look at Gaara.

"Gaara, you should go to bed now. This will be the first night you get to sleep. You should be wanting to enjoy that."

_I want to stay here. I don't want to go back to my empty room. I don't feel like talking to Temari or Kankuro right now either. I'm too tired to take the time to explain to them about why I can sleep now._ "I want to sleep here tonight."

_Huh? Well the bed is big enough I think. Maybe he's too tired to walk all the way to his room._ "Well, okay but we'll have to sleep in our underclothes because I don't want us to get the sheets dirty."

"Okay."

Naruto and Gaara both undressed down to their undershirts and boxers. Naruto pulled the covers down and then got into the bed and moved over enough to leave room for his friend.

Gaara turned off the light and then got into the bed and laid down next to Naruto.

"Good night Gaara."

"Good night Naruto."

Both soon fell asleep, one of them for the first time in many years.

TBC


	7. Gaara learns how to show his affection

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

I want to give credit and thanks to ranma hibiki, one of the reviewers of this story, for helping me come up with some ideas on some of what happens in this chapter. :)

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Seven** – **Gaara learns how to show his affection**

While Naruto and Gaara were sleeping, the Hokage was in a room up above them, talking with Kakashi. He had just explained to the masked ninja about who Naruto's parents really were and the story of the Amarutsu clan and their bloodline limit. He had told the silver-haired man how the kinjutsu the Fourth had used on his own son, to change Naruto's appearance and inhibit the bloodline limit, had failed. He had also informed the jounin about Orochimaru attacking his team and putting a curse seal on Sasuke and that Naruto had taken it off.

Kakashi was shocked when he heard it all, but he was especially surprised to find out that Naruto was the son of his former sensei. He had admired and loved his teacher and had grieved deeply when he had died. He had also loved Amaya, Naruto's mother. He had had a secret crush on her. _Why didn't the Hokage tell me about all this before? I am Naruto's sensei and I should have been told everything!_ Kakashi's shock and surprise had turned to anger towards his Hokage.

_I can see the shock has worn off and now he is angry with me._ The Hokage sighed. "Kakashi, I had promised Arashi that I would tell no one. Not until the time came when Naruto would find out."

"I understand that you made a promise, but because of the possibility that Naruto's change would happen while he was out on a mission with me and his team, I should have been told. Maybe the Fourth wasn't thinking far enough ahead before he told you to keep it a secret. You should have used your own discretion and told me about Naruto, so that I could protect him better. As soon as he became a genin, he was at risk of being discovered."

"I understand your logic, Kakashi. I guess I let my emotions override my own logic sometimes. I kept the promise because it was the last thing he asked of me before he died. Naruto is still so young and I hoped it would be a few more years before he had to learn the truth."

Kakashi's anger deflated out of him. _Well, the Hokage has always had a problem with separating his personal feelings for those he loves, from what would be best for everyone else. He loved, maybe still loves, that insane Orochimaru. I had heard that he didn't kill him when he had the chance. It all comes around in a circle. If he had killed Orochimaru back then, then Naruto would still be unaware of the truth about himself. The Hokage would have still been the only one to know about it._

"Well, what happens next?"

"Naruto is in a henge right now to hide his true identity. I asked him to continue looking as he did before, and to keep his secret from others until after the Chuunin Exams are over. That will give me time to confront Orochimaru and do what I should have done long ago." The Hokage knew he should have killed his former student when he had the opportunity in the past. But he had hoped that Orochimaru would change. But now, Naruto's life was at risk, because Orochimaru could discover the truth and try to use Naruto or even kill him.

"You shouldn't go up against Orochimaru by yourself, Hokage-sama!" _He may be the strongest in our village, but he's old now and he may still care about Orochimaru enough to not put everything he has into the fight._

"I want to face him alone, Kakashi. I hesitated before, I need to make up for that."

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but that is selfish of you. Orochimaru is a threat to not only this village, but also to two of my students. Especially Naruto. Orochimaru must die!"

"I know that, Kakashi." The Hokage sighed. _He is right, I am thinking selfishly. But it was my foolishness that allowed Orochimaru to escape before. I should swallow my pride though. This is too important. More important than my foolish pride._ "You're right. I have already sent for Jiraiya and I will ask him to help me with Orochimaru."

"I want to fight him too. The three of us will be able to do it. Besides, it is my students I want to protect." _I'm glad he is thinking clearly now. I was afraid for a moment that he would cling to the foolish idea of fighting the evil sannin alone._

"If you insist, but let Jiraiya and I do most of the attacks. I don't think your students would want to lose their sensei." The Hokage then smiled at Kakashi. "After this is all over, I hope you don't mind but...I think Jiraiya should take over training Naruto. He can teach him the things that he taught Arashi. He also knows a lot about the Amarutsu clan and their bloodline limit."

Kakashi frowned. _He wants to break up my team. Now that I know that Naruto is the son of Yondaime, I want to spend more time with him. I owe it to my sensei._

The Hokage saw Kakashi frowning and thought he knew why. "Kakashi, I know you want to look after the son of Arashi and you still can. But you know that it will be for Naruto's own good that he train under Jiraiya. Jiraiya loved Arashi too, and he will be able to tell Naruto stories about his father. When Naruto isn't training with him, you can spend time with the boy, yourself."

Kakashi still wasn't happy, but he knew the Third was right. _Whatever is best for Naruto. I can't be selfish with him._ "I think I want to talk with Naruto now."

"Wait until morning, it's late now and he has a big day ahead of him tomorrow."

_He's right, I can visit him early tomorrow morning._ "That's a good idea. I will wait until the morning." Kakashi bowed his head to the Hokage. "Well, unless you have anything more you wish to talk with me about, I think I'll get some sleep myself."

"If I think of anything later that I forgot to tell you, I'll come see you and let you know. Have a good night, Kakashi." The Third smiled at him.

"Good night, Hokage-sama." Kakashi then turned and left the room.

After Kakashi had left, the Hokage started thinking of the boy he had met in Naruto's room. _That new friend of Naruto's is a very interesting boy. He's the son of the Kazekage, and he is a demon holder too. I look forward to seeing what he can do in the third test, tomorrow. That gourd he carries around on his back, must play some role with his techniques. It looks heavy, he must be very strong to be able to carry it around all the time. Well, he can't be too bad of a person, if he's a friend of Naruto's._ The Hokage smiled.

* * *

At dawn, Kakashi was standing outside the door to Naruto's room. He could sense that Naruto was not alone in the room. _I wonder who could be in there with him? I need to be careful, it could be someone wanting to harm Naruto._

Kakashi made sure that his chakra signature was masked so he wouldn't be noticed, he raised his forehead protector up so his left eye was exposed, then he activated his Sharingan. He turned the door knob slowly. He opened the door enough so that he could get his head through to see into the room.

Kakashi looked all around the room for the intruder. When his eyes reached the bed, he was startled. _There are two people in the bed._ With his Sharingan he was able to make out that it was two young boys, one with red hair and his blond student. _Who is that boy sleeping with Naruto? Ahh, that is so cute! They are cuddling! Damn, why didn't I bring my camera!_ Kakashi was grinning.

_Well, I guess Naruto isn't in any danger at the moment._ Kakashi was about to step into the room in order to get a closer look, but stopped himself. _I don't want to wake them up right now. It is still early and Naruto needs to be rested enough to fight later. _

Kakashi stayed where he was for a few more minutes and just watched the boys sleeping. Then he noticed that the red-haired one's breathing had changed, indicating he was waking up. Kakashi quickly, and quietly, backed up and then closed the door. He walked quietly away from Naruto's room and then decided he would go and check up on his other two students.

Gaara awoke feeling better than he had ever felt in his life. It was the first time he had slept for a whole night that he could ever remember. _I feel so comfortable right now. _

Gaara opened his eyes and saw blonde hair. His face seemed to be resting on someone's neck. The red head almost jerked back in surprise. Then he remembered where he was and whose bed he was in, so he relaxed again.

Gaara found that not only did he have his face pressed into Naruto's neck, but that he had his arm wrapped around the blond's waist and one of his legs was slung over his friend's legs.

_This feels strange, but nice. I don't want to move. Naruto has done so much for me. He became my first friend and he helped me to sleep. I wish I knew how to thank him. To show him how much he means to me. _Gaara tried to recall how he had seen other people show how they care to others. He would watch other people as he grew up, seeing how parents would hug and kiss their children, how men and women would hug and kiss each other.

_Hugging and kissing...that seems to be the common way to show you care. No one in my family ever hugged or kissed each other though. I wonder why? Is it because we had no mother to show us how? I don't think Father cares about Temari or Kankuro, I've never seen him hug or kiss them, like other fathers that I've seen. I will not be like my father. I will show Naruto how much I care about him._ With that in mind, Gaara raised his head up and looked at Naruto's face.

_He is still sleeping. His face looks so peaceful._ Gaara smiled at his friend. He raised his body up a little so that he could get his face closer to the blond's. Then he hugged Naruto tightly and leaned his head down and kissed him on the cheek.

After he had kissed him, he moved his head back and looked to see if his kiss and hug had awakened his friend. But Naruto was still sleeping. _Well, that was practice anyway. When he wakes up, I'll do it again._ Gaara laid back down and put his head down on his friend's shoulder. He kept one of his arms tightly holding on to Naruto's waist. After a couple of minutes went by, he relaxed his arm and just laid there to wait for Naruto to wake up.

* * *

Kabuto had awoke at dawn, and got up from his bed and dressed for the day. _I must find Orochimaru and tell him what I heard outside Naruto's room, yesterday._

When Naruto had been telling Gaara the truth about himself, Kabuto had been standing outside his door. He had found out which room Naruto was staying in, and had been about to knock on his door, when he heard the boy talking to someone else.

He had looked around to make sure no one else was in the hallway, then quickly moved to stand with his back pressed to the wall next to Naruto's door and then he performed a henge to make himself look like he was part of the wall. He listened to what Naruto was telling his visitor. After he had heard all he needed to know, he had dismissed the henge and quietly walked back to his own room. He had spent the rest of the evening thinking about all he had heard.

Now he was ready to go in search of his leader. _Orochimaru may be angry with me for waiting so long to give him this information. That can't be helped though, I needed the extra time to decide if I wanted to tell him everything I heard. I would love to keep some of the truth from him to use later myself, but I'm afraid that Orochimaru would find out that I was keeping things from him. I can't afford to have him not trust me._

Orochimaru was currently in disguise as the Sound team's jounin sensei. He was staying in a room next to his team. He sensed Kabuto approaching his door and got up from his bed and went to open the door. He had been awake for a few hours and was already dressed.

When he opened his door, Kabuto was standing in front of him. "Come in, Kabuto." Orochimaru left his door open and went to stand in the center of the room.

Kabuto entered and closed the door behind him, locking it. He bowed to his leader. "I have the information you wanted about Naruto-kun."

Orochimaru smiled at him.

Kabuto walked closer to Orochimaru to stand a couple feet from him. "His father was the Fourth Hokage."

The snake sannin almost gasped. But he stopped himself in time and managed to keep his true emotions from showing on his face, even though inside he was very surprised. He kept himself from dwelling on the implications of what he had heard. He needed to hear the rest of what Kabuto had to say. "That is very interesting, Kabuto. Please continue."

"His mother was a survivor of the Amarutsu clan massacre. That clan had a bloodline limit called the Seichuu Chakra. You have heard of it?" Kabuto had seen recognition come into Orochimaru's eyes when he had said the name of the clan and the bloodline limit.

"Yes, I know all about them. I remember when the clan was destroyed. Does Naruto-kun have the Seichuu Chakra?" _He must! That must be how he took off the curse seal._

"Yes, he does."

Orochimaru's smile got bigger. _The Seichuu Chakra is even greater than the Sharingan. I would be wasting my time using Sasuke-kun as my container when I could have Naruto-kun instead. This changes everything. I can use him to destroy Konoha and kill Sarutobi. My old sensei loved Arashi and made him the Fourth Hokage instead of me. It will be sweet revenge to use the Fourth's own son to kill Sarutobi. It's a shame that I won't be able to use the boy's body forever. A few years isn't enough! I must find a way to extend how long I can use my containers._

"Thank you, Kabuto. You have no idea how much this information means to me."

"I believe I do, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto smiled. "So what happens now?"

"I can't use the curse seal on Naruto-kun. His own chakra would repel it from his body. I have done extensive research on his bloodline limit and as far as I have been able to find out, it would be difficult to find a way to defeat it. But since he's just a boy and from what I have seen, not very bright and too trusting...we should be able to use his own character flaws against him. I will need to think more on this, Kabuto. I hope you will do the same."

"I will, Orochimaru-sama."

"That is all, Kabuto."

Kabuto bowed and then left the room.

_I must think of a way to trap the boy. I will have his body._ Orochimaru sat down on his bed and proceeded to try to think of a way he could achieve his new goal.

* * *

Sasuke had awoke before dawn, but had decided to stay in bed instead of getting up. He had been laying there thinking for a couple of hours, when he sensed his sensei's chakra signature approaching his door. He closed his eyes and pretended to be still asleep. Kakashi opened his door and looked in at him, but didn't stay there but a few seconds. After his sensei closed the door and left, Sasuke opened his eyes again.

The day before he had spent almost all of his time in his room. He had only left once to go eat dinner. He had been pleased to find no one in the dining area when he had got there. His luck had held and he had been able to eat alone. On his way back to his room, he had passed by a few of his old classmates headed in the other direction. But he had ignored Kiba, Shino and Hinata and they had only nodded at him in greeting. He figured they were headed to the dining room to eat. For the next several hours after he had come back to his room, he had been spent his time thinking about his brother, the upcoming third exam and Naruto.

He was still thinking about Naruto this morning. _I still feel different today. It has to be because of Naruto's chakra still being inside me. I wish I had his chakra. His bloodline limit. Then I know I could defeat Itachi. I can just imagine all the things I could do with it. It makes me angry that someone who doesn't really need it, has it, while I am left being so weak, when I need to be strong. I wonder what it would be like if Naruto had pushed even more of his chakra into me. He didn't give me very much of it yesterday. Just enough to make me not feel so tired. I wonder what more of it would do for me. I need to talk to him today. I'll wait until a little later when he should be awake._

* * *

Naruto woke up an hour after Gaara had. He felt warm. He opened his eyes and looked down. _Hmm, Gaara is laying on top of me._

Gaara had felt Naruto's movements and knew his friend was awake. He lifted his head up and looked up at him. He smiled into sleepy blue eyes.

_This close up I can see how pretty Gaara's green eyes are. He looks happy too. He's smiling._ Naruto smiled back. "Good morning, Gaara."

"Good morning." Then Gaara remembered what he wanted to do. He raised himself up and then lowered his head and kissed Naruto on the cheek, then he raised his head and smiled at his friend again.

_Why did he kiss me?_ "Um, Gaara, why did you kiss me?"

"I wanted to show you how I care about you. Isn't that the right way?" Then Gaara remembered what else he was supposed to do. He gave Naruto a hug.

Naruto hugged back. _Gaara is acting strange. But at least he's trying to show his feelings better now._

After Gaara released him and moved back to look at him again, Naruto smiled proudly at him. "I'm proud of you Gaara. You are learning how to show how you feel. Friends do hug. I'm not too sure about the kissing part though. I've never been kissed before. _Well, the kiss with Sasuke-teme doesn't count! It was an accident._

"Oh. So I should only hug? But I watched people before and they also kissed." Gaara was confused about why he shouldn't have kissed Naruto. Then he thought about what Naruto had just said. _Naruto has never been kissed before. Neither have I._

Naruto blushed. "Well, you're right. I have seen people kiss others on the cheek before too. I was just surprised."

"You said that you had never been kissed before. I haven't either." Gaara had a sad look in his eyes.

Naruto saw it and decided to make his friend feel better. He lowered his head and kissed Gaara on the cheek and then moved back. He blushed. "Well I guess there is nothing wrong with friends kissing each other on the cheek, every now and then." Then he grinned.

Gaara liked having his friend kiss him. _It felt nice and it makes me feel loved._ He smiled back up at Naruto.

"Well, I think we should get up now, Gaara. I'm hungry, how about you?"

Gaara nodded and got up off his friend and then got out of the bed. He started getting dressed.

Naruto bounced out of the bed and found his own clothes and started putting them on.

After Gaara was dressed, he started to put his gourd on his back.

"Gaara, you won't need that for breakfast. We'll come back to the room after we eat."

Gaara looked at the blond. "I always carry it with me. I feel safer with it on." He then strapped the gourd to his back.

_That thing must be heavy! I don't know why he insists on carrying it around all the time._ "Alright, Gaara. Let's go eat!"

Naruto and Gaara left the room and headed to the stairs.

Sasuke had just left his room to go in search of his blond team mate. He had seen Naruto leaving his room with the red-haired Sand nin behind him. _What is he doing with that guy? They were in Naruto's room together. This early?_ He called out to the blond. "Hey Naruto!"

Naruto turned around and saw Sasuke in the hallway. _Damn! I don't feel like stopping to talk to him now! I'm starving!_ "Um, hey Sasuke."

Sasuke walked up to Naruto and Gaara. "Why was he in your room?" He kept his eyes only on Naruto when he asked this.

"Why do you care?" Naruto wasn't in the mood to be civil towards his team mate.

"Just answer my question."

"He's my friend, okay? We're going down to get breakfast. If you want to tag along you can." Naruto then turned his back on the black-haired boy and walked to the stairs.

Gaara smirked at Sasuke then followed behind the blond.

Sasuke glared at Gaara's back. He stood there for a minute wondering if he should follow them to the dining area. _I need to talk to him. But Gaara will be there! What is the dobe doing hanging out with him? It makes no sense._ Then Sasuke realized he would only get answers to his questions if he went with them to eat. So he walked down the stairs and headed to the dining room.

When he got there, he filled a plate with food and walked over to where Naruto and Gaara were sitting. He sat down beside the blond. He saw Naruto was too busy to talk at the moment, because he was devouring down his breakfast like he hadn't ate in days. So he decided to eat his own breakfast.

Naruto had noticed when Sasuke had sat down next to him, but he didn't look up at him until he had finished every bite on his plate. _What could be so important to the bastard that he would follow me all the way here?_ "What do you want Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up from his meal and met Naruto's eyes. "Why don't you answer my question from before, first."

_Damn, I forgot what he asked! Then it came back to him._ "I already answered that. Gaara is my friend, that is why we are together."

"Dobe, when did you find the time to become friends with him?" _They never talked before._ _Gaara had ignored him when we all first met._

"Yesterday, Sasuke-teme. And stop calling me a dobe!" Naruto glared at the dark haired boy.

Sand was stirring around Sasuke's chair. Naruto saw it and figured out what it meant. He turned to Gaara. "As much as Sasuke-teme needs to be put in his place, he's still my team mate and I don't want him to be hurt badly."

Gaara sighed. _Naruto is too forgiving. I will just have to find another way and another time to get back at the Uchiha for calling my friend a dobe._ Gaara's sand went back into his gourd and he put the plug back in it. He then went back to eating his breakfast.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke had noticed the threatening sand and then heard Naruto's words to the red head. _Gaara was trying to protect Naruto. This whole situation is strange. Naruto has a habit of making friends wherever he goes. But to befriend someone as dangerous as Gaara is a bit too much._ He noticed Naruto was looking at him and waiting for him to speak. "I need to speak with you alone. Without your new friend."

"Gaara knows everything, Sasuke."

"What!" Sasuke was shocked. "You told him the truth? I should have known you couldn't keep your mouth shut for too long, dobe." Sasuke was angry.

So was Gaara. He had pulled the plug on his gourd and sand was stirring around Sasuke's chair again.

"Gaara, don't!" Naruto turned to look at the red head.

Gaara glared at Naruto. "He went too far, Naruto."

"Gaara, please. I know you want to protect me, but it's only words. I'm used to Sasuke saying things like that."

"You shouldn't be. You don't deserve to be talked to like that, especially by him." Gaara had stopped glaring at Naruto and was now glaring at Sasuke instead.

Sasuke glared back.

Gaara sent his sand back into the gourd and plugged it again. He kept glaring at Sasuke though.

Naruto looked back and forth between them and sighed. _This is giving me a headache. Maybe if I eat some more food I'll feel better. _Naruto got up and went back to the table, where the breakfast was laid out, and filled his plate back up again. Then he came back to the table and started devouring everything on his plate.

Sasuke and Gaara were still glaring at each other. They kept it up until Naruto was finished with his second helping of food and had turned to Sasuke to speak to him. "As I said before, Gaara knows everything. But we can all go back up to my room and talk. Okay?"

Sasuke grunted. "Hn."

Naruto, Gaara and then Sasuke got up from the table and left the dining room. They headed upstairs to Naruto's room.

TBC


	8. The Preliminary Matches

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Eight** – **The Preliminary Matches**

As the three boys were headed down the hallway back to Naruto's room, Gaara's siblings saw their brother. They had been searching for him and checking all the rooms upstairs to see if he was in one of them.

The two groups stood facing each other. Naruto and Sasuke both recognized the boy and girl from when they had met before the Chuunin Exams.

Gaara was glaring at his brother and sister, because he wasn't in the mood for their questions. "What do the two of you want?"

Both Temari and Kankuro flinched at the angry tone in his voice. Temari got enough courage up though and smiled shakily at her younger brother. "We have been looking all over for you since yesterday. So...where were you?"

"I've been with Naruto."

Temari figured the blond had to be Naruto, because she knew that the good-looking dark-haired boy was named Sasuke. "All night?"

"Yes."

Kankuro and Temari exchanged confused glances.

"Um, Gaara, we need to speak with you alone." Kankuro hoped his brother was going to be cooperative.

"Why?"

Temari answered, "Well, we need to make sure everything is alright with you before we have to go to the arena for the matches."

"Everything is fine. I will see you both later, right before the matches start. Now move out of our way."

_Man, Gaara is being so mean to his brother and sister! I wonder why?_ Naruto smiled at Temari and Kankuro. "Well, nice to meet you two and see you later." He then headed to his room after they moved away to let him and the other two boys pass.

Temari and Kankuro stared after their brother.

"Our little brother is acting stranger than usual, Temari."

"Yes, I don't understand why he seems to be friendly with those two. I thought he was looking forward to fighting Sasuke."

"And he spent the night with the blond! What is going on here?" Kankuro was extremely confused.

"I don't know if I really want to know, Kankuro. Let's go eat." Temari then turned back towards the stairs. Her brother followed her.

* * *

After Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke had entered the blond's room and sat down, Sasuke took the chair and the blond and red head sat on the bed, Naruto spoke. "What do you want to talk about, Sasuke?" 

_I wish he would make Gaara go away!_ He glared at Gaara, then turned to look at Naruto. "I wanted to know if you talked to the Hokage and if so, what did he say?"

"Yes I did, the old man came by last night and we talked...he told me to keep up the henge and not tell anyone the truth until after the Chuunin Exams were over." Naruto sighed.

_Hmm, so Naruto will have to fight like he was fighting before the Exams. But can he do it? He always acts before he thinks. I have a feeling he's not going to be able to keep himself from showing something that will give him away. _"Naruto, when you pushed some of your chakra into me the other morning, your chakra made me feel stronger than I've ever felt before. There is something special in it. And it's something you can share with others."

Gaara had just been quietly listening up till now, when he heard these last comments from the Uchiha he became suspicious. "You mean share with you."

Naruto looked at Gaara and saw him glaring at Sasuke. Then he looked at Sasuke and saw him glaring back at Gaara. Naruto sighed. _Not again! I wish they would get along._ "You think my chakra can make people stronger, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked back at Naruto with an impassive look on his face. "Yes I do. You could help Sakura and me in order to test this out." He wasn't about to include Gaara in the experiment.

Naruto thought over what Sasuke had said. _Yeah, I could push my own chakra into Sakura-chan's and Sasuke's chakra pathways. Only enough that they can physically handle though. Then we can see how they do later in the matches._ "Sure Sasuke, that's a great idea!" Naruto smiled at him.

Sasuke smirked. "Alright, I'll go get Sakura and bring her back here." He got up and went to the door, then he turned back to Naruto before leaving. "I know you want to be able to fight with your true abilities today, but just remember, it's dangerous for you right now. Just keep doing what the Third asked of you."

"Thanks Sasuke. I will." Naruto was surprised at the concern that his rival was showing him. It made him feel good inside.

After Sasuke left, Gaara turned to face the blond. "You shouldn't trust him, Naruto."

Naruto looked at his friend with surprise. "Why would you say that? He's my friend too. Even if we fight a lot, he's still had my back when I needed him."

"He only cares about his revenge. If you got in the way of it, I think he would kill you."

Naruto was shocked at the red head's words. _No! Sasuke would never try to kill me. Not for real. Sure we fight and it can get really rough, but he's never tried to seriously hurt me before. I don't understand why Gaara would say that._

"Gaara, I don't think that's true. Besides, how would I get in the way of him killing his brother?"

"Just be careful, Naruto. You are too innocent to see the evil in others. I don't want anything to happen to you."

_Aww Gaara. He's just worried about me._ Naruto smiled at his friend. "Thank you for caring about me, Gaara. But don't worry, nothing will happen to me." He then reached over and gave the red head a hug.

Gaara hugged back and then kissed Naruto on the cheek.

Naruto blushed but returned the kiss then let his friend go.

_Naruto is too trusting. He needs me to protect him. I will not let the Uchiha hurt him._ "Naruto, I think I will go talk to Temari and Kankuro now. Then after that I'll come back here."

Naruto stood up with the Sand nin and walked with him to the door. "Okay, Gaara. I'll see you later."

After the red head left, Naruto walked back to his bed and sat down on it, waiting for Sasuke and Sakura to arrive.

There was a knock upon the door. Naruto didn't even bother to check the chakra signature to see who it was, since he thought it would be his team mates. He opened the door and was surprised.

"Hello Naruto-kun, I came by to talk with you." Kakashi was smiling at his blond student.

"Oh! Hey Kakashi-sensei. Come in." Naruto let him in and then moved to sit on his bed. He smiled up at the masked jounin. "Did you talk to the Hokage?"

Kakashi sat down in the chair in front of Naruto. "Yes, he told me everything last night. How are you feeling about all this?"

"Well, it's a lot to get used to, but it's exciting too. My dad was your sensei, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was." Kakashi got lost in some memories for a moment then came back to himself. "I want you to know that I'm here for you, Naruto. Whatever you need, just let me know."

_Wow, Kakashi-sensei sounds so sincere. He must have really cared for my father._ "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I'll remember that."

A knock sounded on the door. _Oh that would be my team mates!_ Naruto got up and answered the door. "Hey Sakura-chan!" He backed up and Sasuke and Sakura came in to the room. They saw their sensei.

"Good morning you two, looks like you also came to visit Naruto." He smiled at his team.

Naruto closed the door and moved to stand by his sensei. "Sasuke, the old man told Kakashi everything last night."

"Good." Sasuke looked at his sensei and saw him nod.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun told me what you are going to do. I just want to say thank you." She gave him a big smile.

Naruto blushed. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan. What good are team mates if they don't help each other out!"

Kakashi was confused by their conversation. "What are you going to do, Naruto?"

Sasuke answered him instead. "Yesterday when we first arrived at the tower, I had to use my Sharingan for a long time in order to help Naruto come up with a henge that I wouldn't be able to see through. After he finally got it right, I was tired and he offered to help me. He pushed some of his own chakra into me and filled me with enough of it to help me get my energy back."

Kakashi looked at Naruto. "That is a very handy skill, Naruto."

"Yeah." Naruto smiled at him.

"After Naruto had finished, I realized I felt stronger than I had ever felt before. There is something special about his chakra that can make others stronger if they have it in them. Naruto is going to push a larger quantity of his chakra into me than he did before, and he'll do the same for Sakura. It should make the both of us feel stronger and last longer in our upcoming matches. This will be an experiment to see if it works." Sasuke was finished with his explanation and waited to see what Kakashi had to say.

"Well, it's a good idea. I'd like to know this myself. But the Hokage did say that you should keep your identity a secret longer, didn't he Naruto?"

"Yeah, and I'll keep my word to him. I will fight today like I fought before these exams."

Kakashi smiled and patted the blond on the head. "That's commendable of you, Naruto-kun. Now why don't you go ahead and show me what you can do with your two team mates." Kakashi raised up his forehead protector and then activated his Sharingan.

"Okay, Sakura-chan I'll do you first."

"No Naruto, take care of Sasuke-kun first, please." She smiled at Sasuke.

Naruto shrugged then walked over to Sasuke and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He activated his own enhanced sight so he could see the chakra pathways. Then he started slowly pushing his chakra into the dark-haired boy. "Sasuke if you start to feel too uncomfortable, or something feels wrong, let me know and I'll stop."

"Just keep going. I'll be fine."

_He always has to act so tough!_ After another few minutes, Naruto could tell that Sasuke had enough, because he could see some instability occurring despite the fact that his chakra should be keeping Sasuke's stable. So he drew some of his own back out of the boy until everything looked stable again. Then he stopped.

Naruto removed his hand from Sasuke and then turned to Sakura. He repeated the same process with her until her chakra pathways were at the maximum that was stable for her. Then he deactivated his enhanced sight and took his hand away from her. "There you go! So how do you both feel?"

"They should be feeling very strong right now. That was amazing, Naruto." Kakashi was proud of the blond. Not only because of what he could do, but also that he was willing to help his team mates out like that. He always knew the boy had a good heart. But each time he would see examples of it, it would make him care even more for the little blond.

"I do, Kakashi-sensei! I feel like I could take on anyone now!"

"Now now, Sakura-chan, you may feel like that now, but don't go challenging everyone you meet. Okay?" Kakashi warned his pink-haired subordinate.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. _He's been quiet._ "How about you Sasuke?"

The dark-haired boy looked at the blond. "Yes, I feel even stronger now." Then he smiled a small smile at Naruto.

_Hey! I see a smile on Sasuke of all people!_ "You're welcome!" Even though Sasuke hadn't said the words out loud, Naruto could see them in his eyes. "Well, if you guys don't mind, I think I'll take a walk around this place. See what's going on with everyone else."

"I'd like to go with you, Naruto." Sakura then turned to Sasuke. "You want to come with us, Sasuke-kun?"

"No, I think I'll go back to my room."

"That's no fun, Sasuke!" Naruto had turned to stare at him.

"Hn." Sasuke turned and went to the door and opened it, then he left.

"Well, I wouldn't mind accompanying you two." Kakashi smiled at them.

"Sure, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto jumped up and down in excitement. Then he stopped when he remembered that Gaara would be coming back soon. "Let me write a note to Gaara first." He then went to the small table that he had in his room and grabbed the pencil and paper that was on it. He wrote a quick note to his red-haired friend.

"I meant to ask you yesterday, Naruto. Why are you hanging out with that scary red head?"

Kakashi answered for Naruto. "Gaara is Naruto's new friend. You should have seen how cute they were together this morning." Kakashi grinned at Naruto after the blond boy had looked up from the desk with a shocked look on his face.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura turned to look at Naruto too.

"I came by to see Naruto-kun this morning and found him and the cute red head in bed together."

"What!" Sakura looked with shock at Kakashi.

Kakashi just laughed.

Naruto had finished his note and got up to stand in front of the jounin. "You pervert!" Naruto then looked desperately at Sakura. "It's not what you think! Kakashi's just trying to make it look bad. We were just sleeping. Gaara and I are just friends." He finished with a hard glare at his teacher.

"Um, okay." Sakura was still confused about why they would be sleeping together. But decided she would wait until Kakashi wasn't around to ask.

Kakashi headed to the door. "Alright, let's go spying." He opened the door and went out.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and shrugged.

"Maybe we shouldn't have invited him."

"He invited himself, Sakura-chan. Let's just go before he does something else to embarrass us."

They left the room and found their sensei waiting on them. Naruto and Sakura let Kakashi lead the way.

* * *

At 3:30 pm, all teams that had completed the second exam were lined up in front of the Hokage, the Chuunin Exam instructors and each team's sensei. There were five Leaf teams, one Sound team and one Sand team left at the start of the third exam. 

Naruto looked over at the Sound team. _Damn! I was hoping those guys wouldn't make it. They don't deserve to be here. At least that weird looking Rain team didn't make it._

The Hokage made a long speech about the history of the Chuunin Exams and Naruto tuned most of it out. _How boring! When do we get to fight!_ Then the Hokage asked Hayate to explain more.

To the disgruntlement of all the teams, they were told that there were too many people left to fight in the third exam, so they would all have to fight in preliminary matches instead. Only the winners of these matches would move on to the third exam. After the Head Examiner read out all the rules, he asked if anyone wanted to quit now. Only one person stepped forward. Kabuto decided it would be best if he didn't participate. He had performed all the tasks given to him by his leader.

_What the hell? Why would Kabuto quit?_ Naruto felt a bump to his back and looked back at Sasuke. He whispered, "What?"

"See, he's acting suspicious, isn't he?" Sasuke whispered back.

_Hey, maybe Sasuke was right about Kabuto. There is no reason for Kabuto to quit now after getting all this way._ He nodded at Sasuke then turned back around.

"Is that everyone?" Hayate asked one more time. When there was no response, he looked at the Hokage and the Third nodded to him.

Anko walked up to Hayate and handed him a small box. Hayate thanked her and then turned back to the teams. "Each team, starting from the left, will come up here and draw a piece of paper out of this box. When you get your paper walk over to Kotetsu and hand it to him and then give your name."

Kotetsu waved his hand at the genins.

Hayate looked at the team on the far left. "First team start now."

After everyone had finished turning in their papers and giving their names, they were told to wait. Some people talked amongst themselves and some watched what the instructors were doing.

After ten minutes Hayate came back to stand in front of them. "I will call out two names at a time. The pair I call will be fighting against each other. The order I call them out in, is the order of when they fight so remember what pair you will be fighting after. "Sasuke and Yoroi, Zaku and Shino, Misumi and Kankuro, Ino and Sakura, Tenten and Temari, Shikamaru and Kin, Naruto and Kiba, Neji and Hinata, Lee and Gaara and the final pair are Dosu and Chouji. Everyone except Sasuke and Yoroi need to go up to the balcony and await your turn."

_Damn I have to fight Kiba! He's such an asshole!_ Naruto grumbled as he joined the others to walk up to the balcony.

* * *

After all the preliminary matches had been completed, the winners, that would move on to the third exams, were announced, then Hayate told them who they would be fighting. The pairs that would fight against each other in order were, Naruto and Neji, Sasuke and Gaara, Kankuro and Shino, Temari and Shikamaru and then Shikamaru would have to fight again with Dosu. They would all have to wait a month before the third exam would begin. 

_Poor Lee was hurt very badly! I'm still mad at Gaara for breaking his leg and arm. Sasuke did great though. When that big ugly guy tried to drain all his chakra out, he got a big surprise._ Naruto laughed. _Sasuke had plenty of chakra left and kicked his butt!_

Then Naruto felt sad when he thought of his pink-haired team mate. _Sakura-chan came so close to winning. But Ino managed to take over her mind and Sakura used up so much of her chakra to fight the jutsu that she was too weak to beat Ino and it ended up as a draw._ _I need to tell her to start training her body more. If she got more physically fit, I could put more of my chakra in her without hurting her. _ Naruto walked back to his room but found Gaara following him. He decided to let Gaara come in with him, even though he was still angry at him.

_I don't understand why Naruto won't talk to me and he looks angry. Was it because of the fight I had? I didn't think he was friends with the strange looking boy._ After Naruto and Gaara got in the room, Gaara sat in the chair facing Naruto who was on the bed with his head down. "Are you angry with me?"

Naruto looked up and glared at him. "You almost killed fuzzy-eyebrows."

"No, if I wanted to kill him, he'd be dead. I just wounded him enough that he wouldn't be able to keep fighting. If he would have just quit, he wouldn't have been hurt."

_I know Gaara is right but I like fuzzy-eyebrows. He stood by me and talked with me and also cheered on the other Leaf nin. I feel so bad for him. It will take him a long time to heal and he wanted so badly to fight Neji in the third exam._ Naruto sighed and then smiled at his friend. "I'm sorry for being so angry with you, Gaara. It's just that I feel sorry for him, you know?"

_He has to care so much about others. Even people he hardly knows. I feel jealous right now. He was thinking more of that green man than of me. I thought I was his best friend. _"Naruto, did you not say before that I was your best friend?"

"Of course you are!" Naruto looked at his friend earnestly.

Gaara got up from the chair and moved to the bed and sat down close to the blond. He put his arms around him and rested his head on his friend's shoulder. "I thought for a minute that maybe you didn't feel the same anymore."

Naruto turned towards Gaara and wrapped his own arms around him. He rested his head on top of his best friend's head. "I know we haven't known each other long, Gaara, but I feel a strong connection to you. We both lived through a rough childhood, but we have each other now. We aren't alone anymore."

Gaara smiled and hugged Naruto tighter. _He still cares about me._ "No, we aren't alone anymore. Naruto...I love you."

Naruto was shocked to hear those words. A couple of tears fell from his eyes and slowly rolled down his cheeks. "No one has ever said that to me before. Except my father in the dream he gave me. But no one else. Gaara...I-I love you, too."

Gaara raised his head up to look in his friend's blue eyes. He smiled when he saw the tears. "I'm glad I'm the first one, besides your father, to say those words to you. You are the only one that has said them to me."

Naruto smiled back and hugged his friend tight. Then he laughed. "Look at us! We're both being crybabies!"

Gaara was puzzled by his words. Then he released one of his arms from around his friend and reached up to touch his face. He felt wetness on his cheeks. He put his fingers in front of his face and looked at them. _I am crying too. I didn't even realize it._

TBC


	9. The Frog Hermit

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Nine** – **The Frog Hermit**

After Gaara got over his surprise that he had actually been crying, he thought of something. "Why are we here, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at his friend with confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Gaara sighed. "Why did you come back to this room?"

Naruto was still confused about the question for a second or two, then he slapped himself on the forehead. _Damn! He's right! Why did I come back here?_ "Um, habit I guess." Naruto laughed in embarrassment. He then got up off the bed. "Well, I guess I should go back to my apartment." _I'm going to miss Gaara._

Gaara got up too and followed the blond out of the room. "You told me before that you live alone. Do you mind if I stay with you? Just until after the third exam. He added the last when Naruto had looked at him with surprise.

"Uh sure. It's not really big though and I mostly only have ramen to eat in my cabinets." _Gaara wants to stay with me? It could be fun though. My apartment won't feel so lonely._

"That will be fine. I prefer your company to my team's." _While I am still in Konoha, I can watch over Naruto. Protect him from those that would want to harm or use him._ He had a picture of Sasuke in his mind at that last thought.

Naruto and Gaara left the tower and headed back through the forest to get to the village. Naruto was starting to feel excited as they traveled. _Gaara will live with me and we can do lots of things together. That will be great, but I don't like that I have to wait a month to fight in the third exam. I want to teach Neji a lesson. He's such an arrogant prick. The way he hurt his own cousin was cruel too. I can't wait to whip his ass!_

* * *

Orochimaru and Kabuto were standing in a clearing, a couple miles outside the Leaf village. "Have you come up with any ideas on how we can trap Naruto-kun, Kabuto?" 

"He cares a great deal for his team mates and I noticed he was friends with some of the young Leaf nin. He also has grown close to Gaara of the Desert. We could use one of the people he cares about as bait to lure him out of the village."

"I have been in talks with the Kazekage about an alliance between us. His son, Gaara, could be used. Gaara is a demon holder like Naruto-kun, he has a great lust for spilling blood."

"I am not sure he would betray Naruto-kun, Orochimaru-sama. He appears very protective of his friend."

"Gaara is a ninja and will do what his Kazekage orders. He will lure his friend out of the village. If he doesn't, then he will be captured and used as bait anyway. I'm sure his father wouldn't mind us punishing him, if Gaara disobeys his order. He seems to hate his son."

Kabuto knows that his leader is correct about the Kazekage's feelings towards his youngest son, but he also knows that Gaara is very powerful despite how young he is. Up until now, the red head had been a cold blooded killer. He would have been perfect for this task, if not for his strange friendship with the fox demon holder. "So you want to use Gaara to get Naruto?"

"Yes, Kabuto. Go talk to Baki, his sensei, and ask him to deliver a scroll for me to give to the Kazekage. I will write it out now and then you will leave." He pulled out a scroll and a pen and started writing.

* * *

After Naruto and Gaara had got to the apartment, the red head left to go back to the place he had been staying in before, to retrieve his personal items. Naruto had decided he would go look for Kakashi to talk to him about training for the third exam. 

He found the masked ninja standing outside the ramen stand, with his head buried in his book.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The silver head jounin glanced up and looked at the excited blond. "Oh, hello Naruto-kun." He smiled at the boy.

"You're going to help me train for the third exam, right?"

"Of course, but I do need to help Sasuke too. There are some things I could teach him to do, that he can use with his Sharingan."

_Damn! I have to share him with Sasuke!_ "Well, okay but make sure you don't forget about me!" Naruto heard some screaming behind him and turned around to see what it was about.

A very tall, white haired old man was being hit with a broom by a very angry young woman. The screaming was coming from her. Kakashi recognized the man and sighed to himself. _He's here. I bet he wants to steal Naruto from me now._

Naruto started laughing because he found the sight of a small woman beating a large man on the head with a broom, amusing. _She called him a pervert! Dirty old man!_

The white-haired man heard Naruto laughing and walked away from the woman, who decided to go back into her shop. When he got to the blond boy, he bent over and placed his hands above his knees and looked at him. "What are you laughing about, boy?"

"You, you old pervert!" Naruto got his breath back and smiled at the old man.

"What is your name, brat?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage." He smiled proudly up at the big man.

"Hokage, eh? Well I don't think this village wants a brat like you to be their Hokage. By the way, my name is Jiraiya. But most people know me as the Great Frog Hermit." He stuck his hand out to the young boy.

_Jiraiya? This man was my father's sensei?_ Naruto frowned but shook the old man's hand anyway. "You were the Fourth Hokage's sensei, right?"

After the man had shook the boy's hand, he stood up tall. "Yes, I taught him everything he knew." He grinned at the blond. Then he noticed who was standing behind the boy.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Jiraiya?"

"You look pretty fit, Kakashi. I heard you were Naruto's sensei. I hope you don't mind but Naruto and I have a lot to talk about." He smiled back down at the blond.

"The Third told me you were coming." Kakashi then put his hand on Naruto's shoulder to get his attention. "I'll see you later, Naruto-kun." He smiled.

Naruto smiled back. "Sure, Kakashi-sensei! See you later!"

Kakashi then left the other two alone.

"Well, Naruto, there is a nice place close by where I like to do some research. If you come with me, I'll tell you about your father."

Naruto was surprised. _He knows who I am? Oh, the old man Hokage must have told him._ "Okay, that would be great, ero-sennin!"

The white haired man flinched at the name and scowled down at the boy. "Just call me Jiraiya or Great Hermit, brat."

Naruto grinned. "Why should I do that? Ero-sennin suits you better!"

The man growled then lead the boy away.

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya had been talking for about an hour. "So you want to be the one to train me for the third exam?" 

"Well, for that, but also I want to continue being your sensei after the exams are over. There are many things I can teach you to do. You will learn how to do everything your father could. Also, I will help you learn more about your bloodline limit and what you can do with it."

"What about Kakashi-sensei? My team?"

"Well, there will be times when I want to do my research alone and travel, you can do missions with your team during that time."

_I want to learn how to do everything my father could, but I will miss training with my team. They've been like my family. _Naruto was torn between excitement and sadness.

"Naruto, I'm not going to take that seal off that Orochimaru put on you. You are powerful enough that you don't need to use the fox's chakra. It would be best for you to try and forget the demon even exists. I want you to rely on your own strength."

"Does that mean that I can start using my own powers now? I can take off this henge?" Naruto was excited at the prospect.

Jiraiya looked sternly at the boy. "You gave your word to the Hokage that you would wait till after the Chuunin Exams were over."

Naruto frowned. "I didn't know I would have to wait another whole month!"

_Well, you may not need to wait that long. But I won't tell you that now. If things go according to plan, Orochimaru will be dead soon and you will be safe. At least from him anyway._ "Brat, the time will fly by fast. Believe me. I have many things to teach you that you can use at the exam and won't be exposing yourself."

Naruto felt happy again. "Great! Can we start now!"

"Well, I wanted to do some more research..."

Naruto groaned. "But ero-sennin!"

"Oh, alright." Jiraiya grinned at the boy and then ruffled his hair.

* * *

Gaara was sitting on the couch in Naruto's apartment, wondering where his friend was. The blond had left his door unlocked, so the red head had been able to get inside and unpack his things. But now he was bored. _I wonder if I should go find him. He could be training with Kakashi though. He had said he was going to look for him. But it's been a few hours now since we parted._ Gaara decided to go out to search for his friend. When he opened the door, someone had just been about to knock on it. 

"Gaara, Baki wants to talk to you." It was his sister, Temari.

"I'm busy."

"He said it was important. Please come back to the hotel room with me."

_Well, I guess I could look for Naruto after._ "Alright." Gaara walked out the door and closed it behind him.

He and his sister walked quietly to the hotel and went up to the room. After they entered the room, Baki asked Gaara and Temari to sit down. Gaara ignored him and went to stand leaning against a wall.

"I wanted to let you all know that there could be a mission coming up for us. I had to send off a messenger bird to the Kazekage and I'm awaiting his reply. I want all of you to stay here until I get the message back from him."

Gaara glared at the man. "I'm not going to wait long. I have something better to do."

"Gaara, you are a ninja and as you know, we ninja are just tools for the Kazekage to use. If he gives us a mission, it is our job to accept it and carry it out. Your own personal feelings are not as important as this." Baki was nervous about having to talk to the red head like this. But he had his orders and he wasn't going to disobey his leader.

Gaara glared again at him and then looked away. _Naruto is more important than whatever my father wants. My father. He's not even my family. Naruto is my only family. No one else matters._ Despite the fact that Gaara wanted to just leave right now, he waited.

* * *

Sasuke opened his door to see who had been knocking on it. "Kakashi-sensei." He nodded at the silver haired man. 

"Sasuke, as I mentioned to you before, I will be training you. I have an original jutsu I created that I wish to teach you. I also know some other techniques that you can learn to use, with your Sharingan. If you're not too busy, I think we should start right now."

"Alright." Sasuke grabbed his keys from a table by the door and slipped on his sandals. Then he walked outside, shut his door then locked it.

"There is a place nearby right outside the village that I think we should train at, Sasuke. There will be no one around to witness what I teach you."

Sasuke nodded then followed his teacher.

* * *

Sakura knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. After he called out for her to enter, she opened the door and stepped inside. Then closed it behind her. She looked over to the desk and saw him seated in his chair. The pink haired girl bowed her head in respect to him. "I wanted to ask you a favor, Hokage-sama." 

"Hello Sakura-chan. What do you need?" He smiled at her in a friendly manner.

"I wish to be more of a help to my team. I would like to learn about healing and becoming a medical ninja."

"That is an great idea, young lady. With your intelligence and skill in chakra control, you will make an excellent medic nin." He smiled at her proudly.

Sakura smiled back in happiness. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. Can I start learning right away?"

"My, you are eager aren't you?" He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yes, just a minute." He pulled out a scroll and a pen and wrote down something for her. "This is what you will give to the nurse at the front desk. This will let her know that I want you to be set up with a trainer and then you will just do as that person tells you." He handed her the scroll. "I know you will do well, Sakura-chan." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama! I will do my best!" She smiled then bowed to him. Then she left the room still smiling in happiness.

* * *

Naruto arrived back at his apartment, totally worn out. He made it to his couch and just flung himself down on it. Too tired to do anything else. _Man, I hurt all over! That ero-sennin is a slave driver! _

Naruto then thought about all the things he'd learned from the man. _He taught me how to concentrate better, how to focus my mind on my surroundings and how to remember to pay attention to every detail around me. So that no one could sneak up on me. He only taught me one new jutsu though. Well, I almost know how to do it anyway! Just need more practice. But it was fun! Yellow Flash is what my father's nickname was. Now I know how to move fast like he could. Well, almost! I'll have it down pat in a few days. _Naruto grinned.

_Hmm, Gaara hasn't come back yet? I can't get up!_ Naruto had tried getting up off the couch so he could go see if Gaara had been by earlier. But he was feeling so sore and exhausted. _Hey, I'll just lay here and rest._ Soon Naruto fell asleep.

TBC


	10. The Plan

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.

**Chapter Ten** – **The Plan**

Gaara opened the door to Naruto's apartment and stepped in. He saw his blond friend lying on the couch sleeping. He took off his gourd and set it near the door, then took off his sandals. He quietly walked over to the couch and stared down at his friend.

_I hope he can survive this. I swore to myself I would protect him._ Gaara sighed and then walked over to the only chair in the room and sat down. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. _I had to tell Baki I would accept the mission. If I had refused it, then they would have found another way to capture Naruto. I wonder if I will be watched or am being watched right now?_

Gaara tried to sense any other chakra, besides Naruto's, nearby. He created his third eye and sent it out the open window near the bed. _I do not see anything suspicious around right now. I should wake Naruto up and tell him._ Gaara kept his third eye watching for any suspicious activity and kept his senses alert in able to catch anyone that would try to spy on him.

He got up from the chair and walked to the couch, then put a hand on the blond's shoulder and shook it. "Naruto, wake up." It took a few shakes to finally get his friend to awaken.

"Huh?" Naruto opened his eyes and saw the red head. "Oh, hey Gaara." He smiled then painfully pushed himself up to a seating position.

Gaara sat down beside him. "Naruto, I have something very important to tell you and you must keep your voice down. No one else must hear our conversation. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded. _Gaara is scaring me. He almost looked like he was afraid. Or maybe it was just my imagination, because now he just looks unemotional as usual._

"The Kazekage gave me a mission. This mission concerns you."

Naruto's eyes widened, but he forced himself to stay silent to let his friend continue.

"You told me about Orochimaru and how he had gave Sasuke a curse seal, that you took off. I believe he knows the truth about you. Baki didn't tell me anything about it himself, but it must be true because I'm supposed to take you out of the village and deliver you to Orochimaru."

"But you aren't going to do that right? Because you're telling me all about it. What are you going to do?" Naruto knew his friend would never betray him but he didn't know how he could go against his own Kazekage and village.

"Well...I am going to do it, Naruto."

"What!" Naruto yelled in surprise.

"Naruto, if I don't, then he would just find another way and I wouldn't be there to protect you. We will meet up with Orochimaru, but I won't let him get you."

"You mean we will fight him, then." Naruto thought about that.

"Yes, it's the only way, that I can see." Gaara waited to see what Naruto was thinking about.

"When I fought him before it was without my bloodline limit, maybe the two of us together can defeat him, Gaara." Naruto looked at his friend hopefully.

Gaara smiled. "I think together we stand a very good chance. I was told I have only a week to complete the mission. So we need to decide which day we will go."

"Gaara...we need to tell the Hokage."

"Naruto, if we were found out..."

Naruto interrupted his friend. "We won't be! I will go there alone and tell him that no one can hear what I tell him. I'm sure he has some kind of jutsu that will make it so no one can spy on us."

"Naruto, if we don't show up, Orochimaru may leave and then come after you when you have no protection or back up."

"I will tell that to the Hokage. Don't worry, Gaara. You and I are strong, but don't you want to make sure that Orochimaru is no longer able to hurt either one of us. He would go after you too if you betray him."

_Naruto is right. We have to do whatever it takes to protect him. I am not concerned with myself, as he seems to be. My father has tried to kill me so many times before, and I survived._ "Alright, Naruto, I will put my trust in you and your Hokage. You should go to see him immediately."

Naruto jumped up from the couch. "Okay!" He had a grin on his face. Then he looked down to the red head. He reached down and gave him a big hug. "I'm so glad you are my friend, Gaara!"

Gaara smiled and hugged back, then kissed his friend on the cheek.

Naruto laughed then gave a kiss back. He let go of the red head and headed to the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can. If you're hungry, just go ahead and eat. I'll eat later." He got his sandals on and opened the door then left.

Gaara sighed. _Everything will be fine._ _It has to be._ He then got up off the couch and headed to the kitchen.

* * *

Naruto knocked on the door of the Hokage's office, and then just walked in. 

"Hey old man!" Naruto noticed that the Hokage had company. "Oh hey Kakashi-sensei and ero-sennin!" _What are they doing here?_

"Naruto, we were in the middle of an important meeting. Can you come back tomorrow?" The Hokage had a stern look on his face.

"No, I can't, I have something I have to talk with you about. Can you do that no spy, or whatever it's called, jutsu that you know?

The Third looked at his other visitors. "This may be important." The other two nodded at him. The Hokage then performed a jutsu that made the room they were in soundproof, then he quickly performed another jutsu that made them all invisible to anyone that was trying to watch them. "Alright, young man, no one can hear or see us right now. What's so important?"

Naruto then told the men what Gaara had told him about his mission and what they had decided to do. "And don't think about stopping us either. I only told you because I think you should know and uh, maybe we could use some help. I don't want Gaara getting hurt."

The Hokage sighed and looked at the other two adults that were in the room. "I think I should tell him. It looks like our own plan needs to be altered now."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto. "I'm glad you came to the Hokage, brat. It was the smart thing to do."

"Yes, I agree with Jiraiya. You are growing up nicely, Naruto." Kakashi smiled proudly at his blond student.

Naruto smiled back at the men and rubbed the back of his head. He blushed in embarrassment at their praise.

"Naruto...Jiraiya, Kakashi and I had already made a plan to go after Orochimaru and kill him."

Naruto looked at the Hokage in surprise. "You did?"

"Yes, we did. But now we need to do it when you and Gaara go to meet him."

"What about Gaara? I don't want him to get in trouble with the Kazekage and called a traitor."

"Don't worry about Gaara, Naruto. We can make it look like he tried to fulfill his mission and got knocked out of the fight, something like that. After this is over, you won't have to worry about Orochimaru coming after you again." The Hokage then looked at Jiraiya. "You and I both used to care about Orochimaru, but we have to destroy him, once and for all. It's for Naruto's sake."

Jiraiya nodded at him and had a determined look on his face. "I won't hold back, he won't leave this battle alive."

A thought came to Kakashi. "What about that seal that Orochimaru put on Naruto? Is it tied to him or is it permanent?"

Jiraiya looked at the masked jounin. "It is permanent unless someone else takes it off."

"Shouldn't it be taken off? I forgot to ask you before."

"I thought about taking it off, Kakashi, but if I do, then Naruto may start using the fox's chakra again and then become more dependent on it than his own special chakra. He needs to learn to use his own and it will make him far more powerful as a ninja in the future, than the fox's chakra ever could. The more he used that demon's chakra, the more it would make him merge with the fox. Naruto had already been changing some before Orochimaru's seal. Now he will be able to stay human. Don't you agree, Kakashi?"

"Yes, I agree with your decision. I don't want Naruto using that demon's chakra like it was his own. He will become stronger relying on his own powers. His birthright." He looked at Naruto and smiled at him. _I know that one day, Naruto will surpass even the great Yondaime, in power. It's a good thing he has such a good heart. He takes after both his parents in that._

"Okay, well what is the new plan, old man?" Naruto looked at the Hokage expectantly.

"Well, young man, I think you and Gaara should meet with Orochimaru in two days. Leave your apartment at noon to head out for the meeting and we will follow along behind you. The three of us can hide ourselves in a way that Orochimaru, nor any of his minions, can detect. We won't show ourselves until after you are face to face with him. Don't go off with anyone. If Orochimaru is hiding, force him to come out and face you. We need to make sure he doesn't get away."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, sure. I can do that. Well...I need to get back to Gaara now." He turned to head to the door.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned back to look at Jiraiya. "Yeah?"

"Make sure that you and Gaara only speak of this once and that no one is around to hear you. Remember what you learned earlier today with me."

"Yeah, I remember ero-sennin! But Gaara knows how to protect against spying. He did it before when he told me about all of this."

"Well, I wonder then how Orochimaru found out the truth about you, Naruto?" Kakashi was pretty sure that the sannin had found out from Naruto somehow.

"I don't know!" Then Naruto turned red and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, um, it could have been in the Forest of Death when I told Sakura-chan or it could have been at the tower there when I told Gaara. I wasn't thinking about anyone spying on me at those times."

"Why did you feel it was necessary to tell anyone but the Hokage?" Jiraiya asked this question.

"Sakura-chan and Gaara are my friends! I trust them. Neither one would want to hurt me. And I just felt I had to tell them the truth. I kept the truth about the fox for a year and I felt so lonely not having anyone to tell that I could trust. Then I finally get some friends and I just don't want to lie anymore. Friends don't lie to each other." Naruto had a stubborn and determined look on his face. _I don't care what these guys think! I will do what I think is right. I trust Gaara, Sakura-chan and even Sasuke._

The Hokage smiled at Naruto. "It's alright, Naruto. I know you did what you felt was best for you. It seems that Gaara is truly a good friend to you. He came to you and told you about Orochimaru's plan. Despite how it could bring harm to himself. That is what a true friend does."

Naruto smiled happily at the Third. "Yep! That's Gaara! He's my best friend. Well got to go."

"Don't forget, two days from now at noon."

"I won't forget, old man!" He grinned at the Hokage then turned and opened the door and left the room.

"Naruto is too trusting." Jiraiya sighed.

"Well, if it wasn't for being friends with Gaara, then he could have been kidnapped by him instead. Then handed over to Orochimaru." Kakashi pointed out to the sannin.

"Kakashi is right, Jiraiya. It is a good thing that Naruto and Gaara became friends."

* * *

On his way back to his apartment, Naruto came across Sasuke walking towards him. _Wonder why he's out walking around so late?_ "Hey Sasuke." 

Sasuke stopped in front of the blond and looked at him. "What are you doing out here, dobe?"

"Hey, stop calling me that, bastard!" Naruto glared at him.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

"I was just out taking a walk. Looks like you are too."

"I'm heading back home now. You still hanging around Gaara?"

"Of course and what's it to you?" Naruto didn't feel like fighting with Sasuke about his friendship with the red head, but he wanted to know why Sasuke cared.

"Nothing. I really don't care if you want to get yourself hurt." Sasuke then walked to the side of Naruto, to pass him.

"Gaara is my best friend and he will never hurt me."

Sasuke paused and looked back at Naruto. "Your best friend, huh?" _Why do I care if he calls Gaara his best friend? Naruto doesn't have to think of me as a friend. We're just rivals._

"Yes, my best friend. He would protect me with his life."

_Has the dobe forgotten what I did for him? I protected him, even though I hadn't wanted to, I did. Why do I care anyway?_ "Hn." Sasuke walked away.

_Is Sasuke jealous of Gaara? I can now read his emotions and moods, somewhat, since we've been around each other for a while now. It almost sounded like he was hurt when he asked about Gaara being my best friend. Well, if Sasuke wanted to be my best friend, he should have treated me better. Talked with me more. Gaara's not a big talker himself, but when he does speak, it's not to insult me. _Naruto then shrugged off his thoughts about Sasuke and continued to walk back to his apartment.

When he got back to his apartment, Naruto looked at Gaara and smiled. He took off his sandals and walked over to the couch to sit beside his friend. "Can you make sure no one can hear us?"

Gaara nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate on his surroundings. Then he sent his third eye outside again. He opened his eyes and looked at the blond. "You can talk now."

"We are to leave this apartment at noon, two days from now, and head to the place that you are supposed to take me to meet Orochimaru. The Hokage, the ero-sennin and Kakashi-sensei will follow us. They said they would make sure they aren't detected. Ero-sennin said for me and you to only talk about this once and then not talk about it again."

"Who is this ero-sennin?" Gaara hadn't heard Naruto speak of him before.

"Oh! He's my new sensei and he's one of the legendary sannin, just like Orochimaru is. He's an old pervert. He writes those Icha Icha Paradise books."

_That is strange._ "He sounds different."

Naruto laughed. "You don't know the half of it! He's a great ninja though and he knows Orochimaru, so that will help."

"Yes it will. I was worried before when I made the decision to take the mission. The two of us alone are powerful, but it is much better to have the Hokage's help. I don't want to lose you, Naruto."

"Don't worry, Gaara." He smiled at the red head. "You won't lose me. I won't die until after I become Hokage. A long time after!"

Gaara smiled at the blond. _Yes, he will live to see his dream come true. I will make sure of that. No matter what I have to do._

TBC


	11. The Big Battle

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts and dreams are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Eleven** – **The Big Battle**

Two days had passed since Naruto, Gaara, the Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi had made their plan to kill Orochimaru. It was just a couple minutes before noon now and both Naruto and Gaara were standing inside the blond's apartment, near the door. Both were nervous about the upcoming meeting with the snake sannin, but only the blond was showing it.

"Um, Gaara, I want you to know that I really care about you and don't get yourself killed. Okay?" Naruto looked at the red head with concern in his eyes.

Gaara sighed in exasperation. "You said that five minutes ago, Naruto. As a matter of fact, you've said it several times today already. Stop worrying so much. Neither of us are going to die."

Naruto smiled nervously at his friend. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

Gaara walked to the door and put his hand on the knob. "It's time to go."

Naruto took a deep breath, then followed the red haired Sand nin out the door. He shut the door behind him, this time remembering to lock it.

Gaara and Naruto walked away from the apartment building and headed down the street in the direction of the main gate of the village. Neither could detect that their partners, in the upcoming battle, were following along, not too far behind them.

Unknown to anyone, Sasuke had seen Gaara and Naruto pass close by him. He noticed that Naruto looked a little nervous, even if the blond was trying to hide it. Wanting to know what the other two were up to, Sasuke walked into the nearest side street, which turned out to be deserted. He quickly performed a henge to make himself look like a cat, then he made his chakra appear to be as low as a small animal's. He had learned this from training with Kakashi. Now looking like a normal stray cat, he followed the other two boys discreetly at a distance.

Gaara and Naruto casually walked out of the village. Naruto waved at the chuunin guard that was standing right outside the gate. He kept a smile on his face, trying to appear normal. _Oh my god, we're actually going to do this. Gaara looks so calm. I need to calm down my own nerves. I don't want Orochimaru to be suspicious. _Naruto forced his muscles to relax and started whistling, hoping that would help.

_I hope Naruto will calm down soon. I can feel his tension._ Gaara slowed down until he was walking beside Naruto. He looked over at the blond and smiled at him.

Naruto noticed the smile and smiled back. _Gaara is trying to tell me everything will be okay._

After the boys had traveled almost two miles outside the village, they came to a stop when they heard a voice.

"Hello again, Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun." Kabuto stepped out from behind a tree into their path. He smiled at both boys.

Acting normal, Naruto spoke. "Oh, hello Kabuto! What are you doing out here?"

Kabuto smirked at the blond and pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "I came here to collect something."

_Where is Orochimaru? If only Kabuto is here, we're in big trouble!_ Naruto gave a friendly smile to the white haired teen. "Out here? What are you collecting?"

"You."

Naruto acted surprised. "What do you mean?" He laughed. "Is this a joke or something?"

Kabuto smirked at the blond again. "No, this isn't a joke, Naruto-kun. I would like you to come with me."

"I don't understand. Come with you where?" _Damn! I was told not to go off with anyone. What are we going to do now?_ Naruto enhanced his eyesight and casually looked around, trying not to act suspicious.

Kabuto started walking towards Naruto. "Don't be so nervous, Naruto-kun. Your friend Gaara will accompany us, if that makes you feel any better."

Gaara didn't speak and had a bored look on his face. _Is Orochimaru even around? I will kill Kabuto if he tries to harm Naruto._

Behind Naruto and Gaara, Sasuke, still in disguise as a cat, was listening to everything. He knew Kabuto was up to no good. He was ready to dispel his henge if the white haired teen looked like he was about to hurt Naruto.

The Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi were still hidden and waiting for Orochimaru to show himself. All three were worried that it wouldn't happen.

"Kabuto, lets just stop playing around, okay? I already know you are working for Orochimaru." Naruto had found where Orochimaru was hiding. He kept his senses trained on the man, but had already deactivated his enhanced sight and was now looking at the white haired spy.

Kabuto frowned at the blond. He was surprised that Naruto knew the truth. _But then again, I shouldn't be so surprised. I didn't really believe Gaara would betray his only friend. But he's going to pay for that loyalty soon._ "So you know who you are going to be taken to. It doesn't matter though. You will be coming with me anyway."

Naruto smirked at Kabuto. "Gaara, take care of this asshole for me." Then Naruto disappeared quite suddenly. He used his father's own version of the Shunshin no Jutsu to move from in front of Kabuto to where Orochimaru was hiding. He had performed the seals so quickly and whispered the jutsu, that Kabuto hadn't noticed it in time. Naruto had finally mastered his father's jutsu enough to be able to move several yards away in a faster speed than most jounins would be able to do. He still hadn't gotten as fast as his father, though.

But it was fast enough to shock Orochimaru. Orochimaru didn't have enough time to get over his surprise in order to stop Naruto from grabbing both of his arms, and then pulling him out into the open. Naruto had also been pushing some of his own chakra into the snake sannin and used it to control Orochimaru's chakra.

Naruto yelled out. "He's over here!" He was having a hard time keeping control of the snake sannin, though. Orochimaru was fighting back against the blond's control of him. The snake sannin kept trying to get his hands close enough together in order to be able to perform seals.

During all this, Gaara had been fighting with Kabuto. He had tried to get the white haired young man with his Desert Coffin jutsu, but somehow Kabuto was able to get away before the red head could complete it. Now Gaara was trying to hit Kabuto with sand missiles.

The Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi had heard Naruto's yell and saw Orochimaru several yards away, with his arms being held tightly by the blond.

"Let's go!" The Hokage then rushed towards where Naruto was, with the other two racing behind him.

Kakashi got there first and threw several kunai at the snake sannin. But he missed the person he was aiming for.

Orochimaru had finally been able to gain back enough control of his own chakra and was also able to get his hands close enough together to perform seals. His body started to dissolve right in front of Naruto, right before the kunai were to hit.

Fortunately for Naruto, he had stepped to the side when the body he had been holding on to had started to melt. But he still got hit with a couple of the kunai. One went into his left shoulder and the other into his left leg.

Kakashi cursed when he realized he had hit his own student. Then he looked around to try to find where Orochimaru had gone. He had uncovered his left eye and activated his Sharingan right before he had followed the Hokage out of their hiding place. He used the Sharingan to look for the snake sannin.

The Hokage had seen Orochimaru perform the seals for his mud clone and had already kept track of where the man had moved to. He perfomed seals and then teleported behind the snake sannin and began to perform more seals. He then called out, "Katon Karyu Endan." Immediately an enormous dragon shaped ball of flame shot out of his mouth and headed straight at the real Orochimaru.

Orochimaru had sensed the Third behind him and had turned around right when the older man had called out his jutsu. Orochimaru then performed seals and called out. "Futon Daitoppa!" _How fortunate that I can finally kill you, Sarutobi._ He had performed a variation of this technique that allowed him to send out a blast of wind that hit the flames coming towards him. This ignited the air and the wind blew the fire back at the Hokage in a powerful blast.

Jiraiya saw his chance, while Orochimaru was distracted with fighting the Hokage, and he quickly got right behind his old team mate and shoved both of his hands, that contained highly powered Rasengans, into the back of the head of the snake sannin and his back where the heart was located.

Orochimaru died instantly. But he had taken the Hokage with him. The powerful blast of wind and fire that the snake sannin had sent towards the Hokage had hit. The Hokage being old and not as fast to move as he used to be, had not had enough time to perform a counter jutsu to stop his former student's attack. He had tried to get away at the last second, but was unable to avoid being hit by the blast. He was burned very badly and coughing up blood. The force of the blast had crushed some of his internal organs and damaged most of the rest.

Kakashi and Naruto were the first to rush to him. Kakashi was afraid to touch the Hokage, because he didn't want to cause him any more pain or damage. So, he just knelt down beside him.

Naruto knelt on the other side. He had tears coming down his face. "Old man! You have to hold on!" He looked up at Kakashi and yelled frantically. "Go get a medic! Don't just sit there! You can make it back to the village faster than I can!"

Kakashi got over his shock when he heard the words of the young blond. He quickly got up and teleported himself back to the village to get help.

Jiraiya, having gotten over the shock of killing his former team mate, looked over and saw the Hokage and Naruto. He quickly performed a summoning technique and called on one of his frogs. He sent the frog back to the village to go to the hospital and get help.

When Orochimaru had died, Kabuto had sensed it somehow and looked back. He saw what was left of his leader's body. He was all alone now and outnumbered. He quickly teleported away from the battle that he had been engaged in with the Sand nin.

When Gaara's prey was no longer anywhere around to kill, he walked down the road to join up with his friend. After he got to where Naruto was, he saw the Hokage lying down on the ground in front of the blond. He stood by his friend and put his hand down to place it on Naruto's shoulder, to show he was there for him.

Naruto felt the touch and looked up at the red head. "He's hurt really bad, Gaara." He spoke between sobs. He had tears running down his face. He couldn't stop crying.

Gaara got down on his knees beside the blond and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. He laid his head down on top of Naruto's head. He didn't know what to say to help his grieving friend. He could see that the Hokage was dying and wouldn't last much longer.

The Hokage opened his eyes halfway and looked at Jiraiya. His voice full of pain, he forced himself to speak. "Is he dead?"

Jiraiya tried to keep his voice steady and without emotion. "Yes, he won't be a problem for anyone ever again. You need to rest and save your energy, sensei." He called the Hokage that out of affection for him.

"I have to speak before it's too late, Jiraiya." The Third then turned his eyes to look at the blond boy beside him. "You did well today, Naruto. I'm very proud of you and I know your parents are too. Remember they are watching over you and I will too."

A loud sob escaped Naruto. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei went to get help. You're going to be okay. You're too stubborn to die yet, old man."

The Hokage smiled at the boy. "Not as stubborn as you though. Oh, also do me a favor and watch over Konohamaru for me, make sure he stays out of trouble." He coughed and more blood poured out of his mouth and rolled down the side of his chin. "Keep training under Jiraiya, learn everything he can teach you and become strong enough to be Hokage."

Naruto almost smiled at his words, but he was in too much pain to let it out. _The old man must live. The village needs him, Konohamaru needs him, and I need him. What is taking Kakashi so long!_ Naruto felt anger that it was taking so long for anyone to arrive to help.

The Hokage felt himself slipping away. His eyesight was becoming dim and he couldn't feel anything at all. "Goodbye Jiraiya and Naruto."

"No! You can't leave! Why are you giving up?" Naruto yelled at the old man.

The Hokage didn't answer. He had already passed away.

Kakashi arrived at that moment with several Anbu and medic nin with him. The medics rushed over to the Hokage.

One of them checked his pulse and found that there was none. He then put his head over the old man's heart in order to hear if it was beating. He didn't find a heartbeat either. He quickly started CPR to try to get the heart to start working again.

One of the other medical nin started trying to heal the burns and another tried to heal the internal damage. But the one performing CPR, finally told the other two to stop. He had been unsuccessful in getting the heart to work again. He announced, to everyone around him, that the Hokage was dead.

Naruto started sobbing out loud again. _He can't be dead! Why did he have to die?_

Gaara pulled his friend into his arms and hugged him. He started rubbing the blond's back to try to comfort him.

Neither Kakashi nor Jiraiya felt like talking. They were still in shock at the loss of their Hokage. But the Anbu captain insisted that one of them give him a report on what had happened. Jiraiya told Kakashi to do it. Then the white haired man left to go back to the village.

After Kakashi had filled in the Anbu captain with all the details of what had happened there, he walked over to Naruto and Gaara. He wanted to hold the blond himself, but Gaara looked like he wasn't about to let go of him. So he stood there and waited for Naruto to stop crying and calm down.

Sasuke was in shock of what he had witnessed. He was still hiding in some bushes, disguised as a cat. He had been about to dispel his henge and join the battle when Naruto had yelled out and appeared on the road, holding onto Orochimaru's arms. Then he had seen the Hokage, his sensei and a white haired stranger come rushing out of nowhere and start attacking the snake sannin. Even though he wanted to fight too, he forced himself to stay in hiding. He knew he would only get in the way.

When he had seen the Hokage was dying, he had also thought to expose himself and go comfort his blond team mate. Sasuke had liked the Third himself and he could see how upset Naruto was. He had felt something tug at his heart as he watched the blond boy cry. He didn't understand why he would care about Naruto being in pain. Sasuke decided to go back to the village. Naruto had the Sand nin and Kakashi to comfort him and the battle was now over. So he left the area to head back to the village.

One of the medic nin treated Naruto's shoulder and leg wounds. The blond hadn't taken the kunais out before, in order to keep from losing too much blood. He had even forgotten about his wounds during the time he was sitting with the Hokage.

When the medic nin was finished with Naruto, Kakashi picked the boy up into his arms. The blond was in too much grief to notice it. "Let's go back to Naruto's apartment, Gaara."

Gaara nodded at the masked ninja and walked beside him as they headed back to the village. They didn't walk too fast because Kakashi didn't want to cause the blond any more pain.

* * *

After Kakashi and Gaara got back to the apartment with Naruto, Gaara unlocked the door with his own spare key, that Naruto had insisted he have made, then he opened the door and let Kakashi enter first. 

Kakashi headed into the bedroom and placed the boy gently down on his bed. Naruto had fallen asleep on the way back and didn't wake up when he was placed on the bed. Kakashi took the boy's jacket and sandals off him, then pulled the covers up over the boy. He ruffled the hair on the top of the blond's head, smiling down at him.

Gaara had followed Kakashi to the bedroom and was now standing beside the masked ninja. He felt jealous at the jounin's attentions towards his friend. _I wish he would leave so that I can comfort Naruto._ He looked up at the silver haired man. "You can leave. I will take care of him now."

Kakashi turned his head and looked down at the red haired boy. _He seems very possessive about Naruto. I don't know if this is a healthy friendship for Naruto. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, for now._ "Alright, you do that. I'll come by tomorrow and check up on him. If Naruto should need me for anything, let me know."

Gaara just nodded at him. _Naruto doesn't need you. He has me._

Kakashi sighed, then turned and left the room. He walked to the front door, opened it and then left the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Gaara took off his gourd and set it against a wall near the door. He had already taken his sandals off at the front door. He pulled back the covers of the bed and then gently lifted Naruto up a little and moved him further back in the bed, so that he would have room to lay down beside him. Gaara then took off his own jacket and pants, leaving his shirt and boxers on. He laid himself down in the bed next to the blond, then pulled the covers up over the both of them. He turned on his side to face Naruto. _We both survived. Tomorrow I will think of what story to tell Baki, Temari and Kankuro._ _Today I will stay here for Naruto._ He leaned over and kissed his friend on the cheek, then laid back down, still facing the blond. He whispered, "Sleep well, Naruto." He closed his eyes and soon joined Naruto in sleep.

TBC


	12. A new Hokage and the Third Exam begins

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

**I'm picking up the pace in this chapter, because the first arc is drawing to a conclusion. There is one more event before the end of this first arc, that I will put in the next chapter. Then there will be a time jump and the second arc will begin in chapter 14. Also, in case there are those that will question the short time that it takes for Naruto to learn how to do the Rasengan, he now has his bloodline limit and better control of chakra so he is not like his character is in the manga or anime series.  
**

Thoughts and dreams are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Twelve** – **A New Hokage and the Third Exam Begins**

Two days later, the funeral for the Third Hokage was held. Almost everyone in the entire village showed up to pay their respects. The Kages from the other villages sent representatives if they couldn't be there themselves. For the last couple of days, everyone was in mourning and still in shock at the death of their Hokage.

Naruto and Gaara stood side by side as the elders spoke about the life and accomplishments of the Sandaime. The day before, Gaara had told Baki that he had completed his mission, but had been outnumbered. Baki, knowing that Gaara wouldn't have been able to defeat a sannin and the Hokage in battle, accepted the red head's story.

Naruto had been relieved to find that his friend wasn't in trouble. Although he was glad that he no longer had to worry about Orochimaru, he still found it hard to accept that the Third had died. He had loved the old man, he had been like a grandfather to him. Naruto didn't know how to help his young friend, Konohamaru, either. The boy was distraught, yet still trying to act tough.

As soon as the funeral was over, Naruto and Gaara walked away and headed back to the apartment. After they both got inside and took off their sandals, Naruto walked over to the couch and sat down on it. Gaara put his gourd down by the front door, then went to sit by his friend.

Naruto took Gaara's hand and held it. He took a deep breath and then turned to look at his friend. "I have to tell you something, Gaara."

Gaara looked at the blond. "What is it?"

"I'm going to have to leave you for a couple of weeks." He stopped talking for a few seconds, when Gaara jerked his hand away. "I have to, Gaara. Ero-sennin asked me to go with him to find the other legendary sannin, her name is Tsunade, and to bring her back to the village. She's a very skilled medical ninja and can help Rock Lee."

Gaara remembered the strange boy he had fought in the preliminaries after the second exam. Now he was wishing he hadn't hurt the boy so badly. He frowned at Naruto. "To fix what I did to him. I am going with you."

"I wish you could, but Ero-sennin only wants me to go with him. He's going to teach me how to do the Rasengan, it's what he used to kill Orochimaru with. It's only two weeks. I have to be back in time to compete in the third exam."

Gaara was not happy about being separated so long from his friend. He had even been thinking of a way to be able to stay in Konoha and live with him. _Well, Naruto should be safe with the white haired sannin. He is very powerful. I just don't like the idea of Naruto being so far away for two weeks._

Naruto continued talking when he didn't get any arguments from his friend. "I'll be back before you know it! I plan on winning the third exam, so you better be training yourself to give me competition." He grinned at the red head.

Gaara smirked. "You could never beat me. But at least, you would be a good challenge though."

Naruto laughed. He was happy his friend was taking the news of his leaving, so well. "Ha! You just wait and see!"

* * *

Three days before the third exam of the Chuunin Selection Exams was to begin, Naruto and Jiraiya walked through the front gate of the Leaf village with Tsunade and her assistant, Shizune accompanying them. It had taken longer than expected to track the gambling addicted lady down, and to then convince her to come back and be the Fifth Hokage. Jiraiya hadn't told Naruto that the council had asked him to retrieve her for that position. Naruto had been disappointed to find out someone who didn't even want the title of Hokage was being asked to be it. At first, he had felt no respect for the woman. But after she finally accepted the job and he got to know her better, he had grown to like her quirky personality. 

"You have to go see Rock Lee first, Tsunade baa-chan!" Naruto felt he had to remind her, because she was asking where the local gambling clubs were.

Tsunade walked over to the blond and hit him on the back of his head. "I told you to stop calling me that, brat! Show some respect to your new Hokage!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. _Damn that hurt!_ He continued to lead the way to the hospital.

When they finally got to the hospital, he led Tsunade and her assistant to Lee's room. Jiraiya had left their group not long after they entered the village.

Lee was sitting on the bed facing them when they entered. His sensei, Gai, had found out that Tsunade was on her way to the village that afternoon, through a message sent by one of Jiraiya's summoned frogs. So he had found the boy and checked him into a room.

Naruto smiled at his friend. "Hi Lee! This is Tsunade baa-chan and she is going to help you get better!" He jumped away from the fist that was coming his way.

Tsunade glared at Naruto after missing him and then turned to the strange looking boy called Lee. She walked up to him to take a look at his injuries. Then she turned to Naruto. "Brat, don't you have somewhere else to be right now?"

Naruto looked confused at her for a moment, then remembered Gaara. "Ah! Yes I do! See you later, Lee!" He smiled at the boy and then headed to the door to leave.

"Goodbye Naruto-kun." Lee turned to the woman in front of him, after the blond boy had left, hoping she could help him.

* * *

When Naruto got back to his apartment and entered it, he called out for his friend. "Gaara! I'm back!" He took his sandals off by the door, then headed to his bedroom to put his backpack down in there. 

The red head walked out of the kitchen and looked around. Naruto came back into the living room and saw him. He rushed over to his friend and hugged him. "I'm back!"

"So I heard." Gaara hugged back, then kissed his friend on the cheek in greeting.

Naruto returned the kiss, then released his friend and stepped back to look at him. "I'm sorry that it took longer than I said it would. The old hag was hard to find and we had a hard time getting her to come back here."

Gaara looked at the blond with a puzzled look on his face. "Old hag?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah she's really old, as old as Ero-sennin. They were team mates once. But she uses some jutsu to make herself look like a young hot chick. She's really strong too. I don't think I've ever met anyone that could hit as hard as she can. When she gets mad she breaks things."

_This village is full of strange people._ "Did you learn that Rasengan technique you talked about?"

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I did. But I have to use two hands or a clone to do it. Jiraiya can do it with just one hand. I still have to practice until I can do it better. I'll be working on that and some new jutsus for the next two days, until the competition."

Gaara smiled at his friend. "I know you will do good. You will beat that Hyuuga boy."

Naruto laughed. "You bet I will! I have to get him back for what he said to me and how he treated Hinata. I'm really excited about this final exam. Um, I'm hungry, Gaara. You want to go to Ichiraku's with me and get some ramen?"

_I am so tired of ramen._ But he nodded anyway. "Yes."

Naruto jumped up in the air with a fist raised. "Yay!" Then he turned to go to the front door. "Let's go, Gaara." He got his sandals on and then opened the door.

Gaara got his sandals on, too, and then followed the blond out the door.

* * *

Three days later, the final competitors for the third exam were lined up in row, waiting for the newly appointed Hokage to announce the start of the event. There was one person missing out of the contestants. The Sound genin, called Dosu, had been been found murdered in an alleyway near the hotel where all the genins, that weren't from Konoha, were staying. 

Unknown by anyone in the village, the Sound ninja had been killed by Gaara, one week before Naruto had come home. Gaara had been unable to hold back his rage when Dosu had approached him and said he was going to kill him so that he could take out some of the competition. He had bragged about how he would kill Naruto next. He wanted to get closer to fighting the Uchiha, who he hadn't been able to kill in the Forest of Death. And he wanted revenge against the blond haired genin for defeating his team so easily there. So, Gaara had sent a wall of sand towards the Sound nin and crushed him with the force of it's impact. He didn't tell Naruto what he had done. He figured his friend didn't need to know anyway.

The first fight was between Naruto and Neji. The people watching became enthralled by the match and were cheering loudly at the end for the blond haired genin that was able to defeat a Hyuuga. Naruto had outsmarted and outlasted the other boy and deserved everyone's respect.

Naruto went back up to the waiting room after bowing to the crowd for several minutes. He walked over to his red haired friend and hugged him in jubilation. "That was great, wasn't it Gaara?" He was grinning from ear to ear.

After Gaara had returned the hug, he stepped back and smiled at his friend. "I see you've also grown more intelligent while you were away. At the beginning I was thinking you hadn't, but by the end, you showed you weren't such a dumb blond after all." He smirked at the last words.

Naruto scowled at his friend. "Hey! That was a compliment and an insult!" Then he smiled because he was too happy to be mad. "You better beat Sasuke or else you won't get to fight me."

Gaara turned away with a frown. _I wish I could kill the Uchiha. If I could make it look like an accident...but then, Naruto would still be upset. I don't want him to hate me. I'll still beat the Uchiha anyway though. _

Naruto wondered why Gaara turned away. _I know he doesn't like Sasuke. I hope he doesn't hurt my team mate too badly. Despite Sasuke being so arrogant all the time, he doesn't deserve to be seriously injured._ Naruto moved up to the balcony to stand closer to his friend. Then he looked over at him. "You won't hurt Sasuke too bad, will you?"

Gaara wouldn't meet the blond's eyes. "No, I know you think of him like a friend. I wouldn't deliberately do anything to upset you."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Gaara! I know I can trust your word."

* * *

Later that day, it was down to the last two competitors, Gaara and Naruto. Gaara had defeated Sasuke, despite the fact that the Uchiha's new chidori technique had hurt him and been able to defeat one of his defense shields. Sasuke had worn himself out with using the chidori twice, and had tried to use it a third time. 

Naruto had refused to provide his team mate with any more of his chakra, because he didn't want to give Sasuke an advantage over Gaara. He liked Gaara better and wanted him to win. When Sasuke was exhausted from overuse of his chakra, Gaara hit him with a few of his sand missiles which knocked the Uchiha unconscious.

Now Gaara and Naruto were facing each other for the final battle. Naruto didn't want to hurt his friend, but he also wanted to win. Since Orochimaru was now dead and no longer a threat, and this was the last battle in the exams, he decided he would use his bloodline limit against his friend and end the fight quickly. It would cause less harm to the red head.

When Hayate announced that the match had begun, Naruto raised his hand towards his friend and sent out a chakra rope towards him. Gaara had never seen this move before and so didn't expect it. Naruto's chakra rope moved so fast that it penetrated the sand's defense and connected to the red head's chest. Naruto then quickly started draining chakra out of Gaara. Gaara tried to fight it when he realized what was happening. But he was too late in stopping the blond's attack. He fell down in exhaustion from having so much taken out of him so quickly.

"Do you give up, Gaara?" Naruto hoped his friend would, so that he could then fill him with chakra to make him feel better.

Gaara thought about how weak he was now and that it would probably be a waste of his time to try and fight his friend. He didn't think there was anything he could do right now that would give him the win in this match. He looked up the blond. "Yes, I give up."

Hayate then announced Uzumaki Naruto as the winner. The crowd was still in shock at first so didn't respond. They didn't know what the young blond genin had done to the Sand nin. It had happened so fast.

Naruto ran to Gaara and put his arms around him. He still had his eyesight enhanced from when he had activated it before sending out the chakra rope. He pushed his chakra into his friend, filling him up enough so that he wouldn't feel so tired and weak. Then he stopped and deactivated his enhanced sight. "You feel better now, Gaara?" He was looking with concern at the red head.

Gaara nodded and looked up into his friend's blue eyes. _He's so strong! One day he will be Hokage._ He then smiled at the blond. "Yes, thank you, Naruto." He let his friend help him stand up, even though he was feeling better.

By then the crowd had got over their shock and were standing up and cheering for the small blond. The Fifth Hokage was smiling proudly down at the boy she thought of like a little brother, because he reminded her of her own little brother who had died many years before. She walked up to the front of the balcony and called out to the crowd, whose cheers were finally fading enough that she could be heard. "That concludes the final exam of the Chuunin Selection Exams. Uzumaki Naruto is the winner. I hope you all have an enjoyable afternoon." She then turned back and approached the Kazekage who had been a special guest for the third exam. "Do you wish to go back to my office now or do you have other plans?"

The Kazekage looked at the beautiful Hokage. "I think I will go back to my hotel room. It's been an exciting day and I need to rest." He bowed his head to her, then turned to leave the balcony.

_I wish I could kill that bastard! Working with Orochimaru to try to capture Naruto. Damn politics!_ She left the balcony, too, with an angry look on her face.

Naruto and Gaara were greeted by all the other competitors of the exam. Most of them didn't want to get too close to the red head, but they still wanted to congratulate their friend, Naruto. Temari and Kankuro went over to their brother to see if he was okay.

Since Naruto had moved away to talk with his friends, Gaara decided that now was a good time to talk to his siblings. "Temari and Kankuro, I'm going to ask the new Hokage if I can stay in this village and become a Leaf ninja."

His brother and sister looked at him in surprise. Temari found her voice first. "But Gaara, why would you want to do that?"

"I want to stay with Naruto. I don't want to live so far away from him."

Kankuro almost shouted. "What?"

Temari knew that her little brother was close to the blond. But Gaara had accepted a mission to betray his friend. It didn't make sense why he would now want to stay with him. "Gaara, I don't understand. You know that our father is here. Do you really think he would let you leave Sand and become a Leaf nin?"

"I don't care. I don't care what you think and I don't care what the Kazekage thinks. This is what I've decided to do. I was just telling you so that you would know." Gaara had a determined look in his eyes. _They can't stop me. The Hokage will allow me to stay because of how I helped Naruto. I've seen how she looks at him. She cares about him deeply. She will let me stay here to protect Naruto._

Temari and Kankuro didn't know what to say to their little brother. They could see he would be stubborn about it. So they both said goodbye to him and walked away.

Naruto came back over to Gaara and put his arm around him. "You okay?"

Gaara looked at his friend and smiled. "Yes. Can we go home now?"

Naruto grinned at the red head. "Yes, but first we are stopping at the ramen stand. I worked up a big appetite."

_Of course, I should have known. His first love is ramen and probably always will be._ "Alright."

Naruto dropped his arm from Gaara, then both boys turned to leave the arena.

All of Naruto's friends watched them leave with mixed emotions. Some didn't understand the friendship between the two boys, and some were afraid of the Sand nin and didn't trust him.

TBC

I did not go into details about the matches between the competitiors in the third exam, because I had got some complaints about repeating alot of the details from the anime series. So since most of what went on in the fights would have been repeat information, I left them out. I only described the final fight because that wasn't in the anime.


	13. The truth about Naruto revealed

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

**This is the last chapter in this first arc of the story. In the next chapter there will be a time skip of two and a half years.**

Thoughts and dreams are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Thirteen** – **The truth about Naruto revealed**

The next morning, Naruto stood facing the clan leaders and counsel to the Hokage, in the meeting room of the Hokage Tower. He was no longer under a henge to hide his true identity. The Hokage had just finished telling them all, about who Naruto's parents were and about the Amarutsu clan and their bloodline limit, which the blond boy had inherited. The clan leaders and counsel members were all in shock and had been shouting out questions, but Tsunade had called them to order and told them to ask their questions, one at a time.

Hyuuga Hiashi was told to go first. He looked at Naruto with no emotions showing on his face, but inside he was very excited. "You are the last surviving member of the Amarutsu clan which gave birth to the Hyuuga clan. You belong with us. Will you join with our clan and become a member of it?"

Naruto was shocked at the offer. He was being offered a family. But it wasn't the one he wanted. Not how they were right now. "That is very generous of you to offer, Hyuuga-san, but I don't want to be part of the Hyuuga clan."

Hiashi felt angry, but refused to let it show. "Will you at least come visit me later at the Hyuuga compound and let me get to know you better?" _I will call a meeting with the elders and we will get him to change his mind. No matter what has to be done._

Naruto smiled at the Hyuuga clan leader. "Sure, I can do that."

Hiashi nodded at the boy. "Thank you. Can you come by later today?"

Naruto thought about it and realized he would have some free time later. "Yes, I can come by around two." _That gives me five hours, plenty of time to stop by the ramen stand and then go train._

"Good. I look forward to it." Hiashi smiled at the blond.

Mitokado Homura, one of the counsel members, looked at Tsunade. "Why were we not told about this earlier?"

The blond Hokage looked at the old man. "I already told you why before. It was to protect his identity."

"Did Sandaime not trust us to keep it a secret?" The old man was angry at not being trusted by his old friend.

Tsunade sighed. "One day you may be able to ask him that yourself. That's not important right now."

Homura glared at the Hokage and then decided to just keep quiet until he could be alone with her later.

An hour passed before everyone in the room was satisfied enough with the answers they had been given and the Hokage called the meeting to a close and allowed Naruto to leave.

Naruto left the Hokage Tower and headed towards the ramen stand. When he got there, he found Sasuke standing nearby and the raven haired boy joined him at the counter.

After both had placed their orders, Sasuke turned to the blond. "So, you have decided to let everyone know your secrets now?"

Naruto grinned at his team mate. "Yep, just came from a meeting with the clan leaders and the counsel members. Tsunade baa-chan told them all about me and then they had a ton of questions. Hinata's dad asked me to join the Hyuuga clan."

Sasuke looked at the blond in surprise. "Are you going to do that?" _Damn Hyuugas trying to get Naruto's bloodline limit!_

"Nope."

Sasuke was relieved. "Why not?"

Naruto looked away and frowned. "Because they treat their own family like slaves. They put curse seals on them. Why would I want to be a part of that?" He looked at Sasuke again.

The waitress, Ayame, came up to them and placed a bowl of miso ramen in front of each boy. Naruto looked at her and smiled. "Thanks!" Then he started devouring his food quickly.

Sasuke looked away from the boy in disgust, then started eating his own food in a more civilized manner. When he noticed Naruto was finished, he stopped eating and turned to him again. "I should be mad at you for not helping me out in the third exam yesterday. But it turned out for the best anyway. I was able to test my own strength against a strong opponent like Gaara. It showed me my weaknesses."

Naruto was glad that Sasuke wasn't mad at him. "You will get stronger, Sasuke. I will help you as much as I can. I would have helped you out at the exam yesterday if you hadn't of been fighting Gaara. You know what he means to me."

"Naruto, I know you care about him as a friend. I'm not going to try to stop you from being his friend, even if I don't like or trust him. I wish you would be more careful though, about who you trust." _Naruto is the closest thing I have to a friend. Even though I've tried so hard to never let anyone get too close to me. Especially because I would be tempted to be like my brother, the man I hate, by killing my own closest friend._

Naruto smiled at the dark haired boy. "I'll be careful, Sasuke. I'm surprised you care."

Sasuke glared at the blond. "I don't care."

Naruto laughed. "Sure you don't! But don't worry, it will be our little secret." Then he laughed again at Sasuke's expression. The Uchiha was glaring even harder and his cheeks were tinted pink.

Two men, wearing long black cloaks with what looked like red clouds on them, were standing on top of a roof that was across from the ramen stand. They were waiting for the blond boy to leave, so they could follow him.

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto knew, at that time, they were being watched. Naruto had asked if Sasuke wanted to learn some new techniques that the blond had been taught by Jiraiya. Sasuke, not showing his excitement, had accepted the offer. Both boys got up from the counter, paid for their food and then left the ramen stand. They walked side by side, on their way to the training grounds.

The two men followed behind them. One of the men was not happy about the dark haired boy being with the blond. _I don't wish to meet up with my little brother right now. But it looks like I will have to. Though it will give me the chance to see how much he's grown in power._

When the boys got to the training grounds, they walked around until they were able to find a private area where they wouldn't be seen by others.

"This looks like a good place, Sasuke."

"Yes, it will do." Sasuke had felt that they were being followed, but he hadn't been able to pick up their chakra signatures. _I wonder who they are, and if they will be trouble. Surely Naruto has noticed them too._ He looked at the blond, but couldn't tell if he was suspicious about anything or not.

Naruto had noticed that two people had followed them from the ramen stand. But they had unknown chakra signatures, he wasn't able to tell how powerful they were either. But he had been able to see them with his enhanced eyesight after he had activated it and looked around. The two men were wearing high collared cloaks, though, and had large straw hats covering not only their heads but half of their faces too.

Naruto walked up to Sasuke, put his hand on his shoulder and then whispered to him. "We're being watched and I don't know who they are and why they followed us here. I'm going to push my chakra into you now, so that you will be stronger, in case they attack us."

Sasuke nodded. Then felt himself getting stronger.

The taller of the two men that were watching the boys, looked down at his companion and whispered. "What do you think they are doing, Itachi?"

Itachi had activated his Sharingan and was watching what the blond was doing to his brother. He was surprised to see that the kyuubi vessel was able to send some of his own chakra into another person and it didn't clash. He was curious and wanted to know more, but he had a mission to complete. "We need to attack right now, Kisame. The kyuubi vessel has some unusual abilities I believe, so be careful around him. I will take my little brother out of the fight, you drain the demon container of his chakra."

"Right." The shark like man grinned in anticipation.

Naruto pushed Sasuke away from him and turned around to face the men that just landed on the ground behind him. He pulled together a large amount of his chakra and then threw it out, away from his body, towards the two strangers.

Itachi jumped away from the path of the large chakra ball heading towards him, but Kisame, not having the advantage of the Sharingan, hadn't seen what was coming at him in time to get away. The force of the blast hit him and knocked him back a couple yards, into a tree. He was knocked unconscious from the impact.

Itachi had moved to where his brother, Sasuke, was standing and grabbed hold of him by the neck and lifted him up off the ground. Sasuke kicked at his attacker and managed to get him to let go. When Sasuke landed on the ground he looked at the man that had grabbed him, and then gasped out loud in surprise. "Itachi!"

"Hello, little brother. I see you are still weak. I'm not interested in you right now though. So just stay out of the way and you won't get hurt."

Sasuke growled and pulled out some shuriken then threw them at his brother.

When Itachi dodged them, he had moved closer to Naruto.

Naruto had been caught by surprise at first when he heard the man call Sasuke his little brother. But as soon as Itachi moved closer to him, he grabbed him by the arms and started trying to draw all his chakra out of his body.

Itachi could feel the drain on his chakra and began trying to stop the drain. He kicked back at the blond and even tried to break the younger boy's hold on his arms.

Naruto called out to Sasuke. "Sasuke! Now is your chance, I will try to hold him as long as I can, but he's fighting back hard."

Sasuke pulled out a kunai and ran towards his brother to kill him. Right before he reached Itachi though, the older teen managed to twist out of the blond's hands and quickly teleported over to where Kisame lay. He picked up his partner then teleported the both of them away.

Sasuke wasn't able to stop himself in time to miss stabbing Naruto, but the blonde was able to throw himself on the ground before his team mate could stab him. Sasuke ended up tripping over Naruto and falling down on the ground. When the boys got up, they looked around and saw that both of their attackers were gone.

Naruto looked at the dark haired boy. "That man was your brother?"

Sasuke was angry that his brother had got away. "Yes, he's the man I will kill. He murdered my entire clan, killed our parents."

_Damn! I wish I was stronger! If I had been just a little stronger, I could have held onto him longer and Sasuke could have had his revenge._ "I'm sorry Sasuke."

The dark haired boy looked at the blond. "You did your best. There will be another time that I will be able to kill him."

"Well, we did come out here so I could teach you some new jutsus. You saw that teleport jutsu your brother did, well I can teach you that. My father's version though. It's a lot faster and can help you in battle."

"That would be good, Naruto. But as long as my brother is the only one with the Mangekyo Sharingan, then I will still be weaker than him."

"That's some kind of special form of the Sharingan?"

"Yes, my brother killed his best friend to get it."

Naruto looked with shock at his friend. "Is that the only way to get it?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes."

_Damn, the Uchihas are one screwed up clan or were. That can't be the only way to get it though. Since Sasuke already has the Sharingan, he should be able to get all the forms of it, if it can be triggered by force._ "Sasuke, will you let me try something on your eyes?"

Sasuke looked questioningly at the blond. "Try what?"

"I'd like to see what I could do to your Sharingan, to maybe force it to activate the other forms of it. Since your clan came from my mother's clan, I might be able to do something with the Sharingan." _I have to try anyway. Whatever will help Sasuke achieve his goals._

Sasuke looked away. _Can I trust him? What if what he does makes me blind or something? But it is worth a shot, I have to do whatever it takes to avenge my clan._ He looked back up at Naruto. "Alright."

Naruto moved closer to the dark haired boy and put both his hands on the sides of Sasuke's face, close to where his eyes are. He activated his enhanced sight and then looked at Sasuke's Sharingan activated eyes. He focused on pushing his chakra into his friend's eyes. He took control of Sasuke's own chakra that was keeping the Sharingan activated. He tried to make it stronger and to force the chakra pathways in Sasuke's eyes to grow bigger.

Sasuke winced in pain. _I feel like I want to deactivate the Sharingan. My eyes are stinging very badly. _Right at the point where Sasuke was ready to push Naruto away from him, in order to stop the pain, he started feeling the pain fading away. He noticed Naruto was grinning at him. "What?"

Naruto let go of Sasuke's face and deactivated his enhanced sight then stepped back, still grinning. "You got a mirror?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. _Did he do it?_ He quickly reached down and opened his weapon pouch and looked for the small mirror he had inside it. He pulled it out and then held it in front of his eyes. _Oh my god! He did do it!_ Sasuke could see the distinctive mark of the Mangekyo Sharingan in both of his eyes. _It looks just like what was in Itachi's eyes._

Naruto laughed at the look on his friend's face. _Sasuke looks so shocked!_

Sasuke looked away from the mirror and then looked at the blond. "Naruto! Do you know what you have done?"

"Um, yeah. Hey, you wanted it didn't you?" Naruto was puzzled at his friend's question.

"Of course, dobe! I didn't think you could really do it, though. Even with your bloodline limit. You have given me what I needed and I didn't have to kill anyone to get it." _I didn't have to kill you. I didn't have to become a murderer like my brother. _Sasuke was excited and elated but he kept it inside. He didn't want to let the blond know how he really felt. _Even if Naruto is my closest friend, I still have to kill my brother and I can't let anything distract me from that. If I survive after killing Itachi, then I will think about what to do with the rest of my life, including having friends._

Naruto smiled at Sasuke and went to hug him. But stopped when the dark haired boy backed away, glaring at him. "Well, now what are you going to do?"

"Well, you can teach me those jutsus you wanted to, then I will start training under different jounin teachers. I want to get stronger and learn everything I can."

"What about Kakashi-sensei?"

"I will learn from him too."

Naruto smiled at his friend. "Well, if you're ready to begin, I'll start with the Shunshin no Jutsu."

* * *

At two pm, Naruto was sitting on a couch in the Hyuuga main house. The elders of the clan and the clan leader, Hiashi, were gathered around him. Naruto felt like he was a bug in a glass with all of them staring at him, like he was some new species they had never seen before. _I wish I had turned down the offer to visit._

Hiashi smiled at the boy when he saw how nervous he looked. "Relax, Naruto-kun, we are your family now."

_Hey, doesn't he remember that I told him no about living with them? He better not ask me again._ Naruto forced himself to smile back. "Alright."

Hiashi decided to just get to the point of the meeting. "Naruto-kun, you need to fulfill your obligations to the Amarutsu clan. We have decided that you will marry either Hinata or Hanabi and have many children."

_Say what! Hell no!_ "What? Um, no thank you!" Naruto got up to leave.

Hiashi couldn't allow that to happen. "Please sit back down. We can work out arrangements that would be satisfactory for all of us. What would you like in return?"

Naruto glared at the man, but sat back down. "There is nothing you could give me that would make me want to marry a Hyuuga."

"Why do you not want to marry into our family?"

"You people treat your own family like slaves! Look what you did to Neji!" Naruto was shouting in anger.

Hiashi kept his voice calm, hoping the young blond would stop shouting. "That has been a tradition in our clan for many years."

"It's wrong!"

One of the the elders spoke up. "If you don't wish to marry into the clan, would you at least consider fathering children with Hinata and Hanabi?"

_Eww! They are all perverts!_ "I'm too young for that! And Hanabi is what, nine?"

"You could wait till you are sixteen to father children on Hinata and when Hanabi is sixteen, you can do the same with her."

_These guys are just sick! There is nothing they could offer me that would make me do that. They enslave their own family and put curse seals on them. Hmm, I'll get them to back off._ "Well, the only way I would agree to something like that, is if you stopped separating your clan into two separate families. You would have to combine the main and branch families together and take off all the curse seals you have on the branch family." _There, they would never do that!_

Hiashi looked at the elders. "Let's go discuss this in another room."

They nodded at him and got up and left the room.

Hiashi looked at Naruto. "We'll be back in a few minutes with your answer." Then he left the room.

_Huh? What the hell are they up to? Why didn't they just say no?_ Naruto was confused. He got up from the couch and walked around the room, looking at things that were in there.

Five minutes passed and he heard the group of men approaching. He hurried back to the couch and sat down. The elders and Hiashi walked back into the room. Naruto noticed that only Hiashi was smiling.

Hiashi sat down in the chair in front of the blond and smiled at him. "We will draw up the contract and send it to you later today for you to read and sign. You can bring it back here tomorrow and we'll give you a copy of it for your own records."

_Oh god, no!_ "What contract?" Naruto looked with fear at the clan leader.

"We accepted your terms. The curse seals will be taken off all the branch family members and the main family and branch family will become one and never be separated again. In return, when you are sixteen years old, you will father children on Hinata and when Hanabi reaches that same age, you will do the same with her. The children you father will be Amarutsu-Hyuuga by name. This will bring back a new Amarutsu clan and add new blood to the Hyuuga clan."

Naruto was in shock. He didn't believe they would really go that far to get his bloodline limit. He wanted to tell them to go to hell but if he did that, he would be condemning the branch family and Neji, to being slaves to the main family for the rest of their lives. _I had promised I would fix the Hyuuga clan when I became Hokage. But it looks like I can do it sooner than that. I can't be selfish. Too many other lives are at stake here. _Naruto stood up shakily. Hiashi held his hand out towards the blond. Naruto shook the man's hand then let it go. "A-Alright. Well I got to go now, but I will sign that contract when I get it, then return it back to you."

Hiashi smiled at the boy. "I'm happy to hear that." He then walked Naruto to the door and let him out.

* * *

Naruto rushed down the streets in a hurry to get home. All of a sudden a hand reached out and grabbed his jacket, jerking him to a stop. Naruto turned around quickly to see who did it. 

"Hello, brat."

_Damn it's Ero-sennin! I don't want to talk with him now!_ "Um, hey Ero-sennin. I'm kind of in a hurry right now."

The sannin noticed the boy seemed to be upset about something. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! I just need to get home that's all."

"Well, I have to tell you something first, then you can go. You remember I'm supposed to be training you now, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not in the mood for training right now!"

"Not now, brat! But I have some research I need to do on the next book I'm going to write. I want you to come with me and I can train you while we travel."

"When and how long?"

"We'll leave in a couple of days and it could be a year or two, maybe three. It all depends on how things go."

_So long? Hey, it would get me away from the Hyuugas though. And keep my mind off what's going to happen when I turn sixteen. Oh god, I don't even want to think about that!_ "Sure! That sounds great. Can I go now?"

"Yeah, just meet me at the front gate two days from now at eight am. Don't be late!" _Something is troubling the boy. Maybe I'll get it out of him after we leave the village._

"Bye Ero-sennin!" Naruto took off running down the street.

The white haired sannin just sighed. _That boy makes me feel old with all that energy he seems to have._

* * *

After Naruto had got to his apartment, he laid down on his couch and stretched out. _I thought after I revealed myself that I would be happy because I no longer had to pretend. But damn if the day didn't turn out bad. Hey, I wonder where Gaara is?_

Just then, the red head walked in the door. He saw Naruto laying on the couch and the blond didn't look too happy. He took his sandals off and his gourd laying them by the door. "What's wrong, Naruto?" He walked over to the chair and sat down, looking at his friend in concern.

"It's really terrible, Gaara. I can't believe I got myself into such a bad mess." He finally looked at his friend and saw the concerned look on his face.

"What did you do?"

"I agreed to have babies for the Hyuuga clan!" Naruto felt like crying.

_What the hell!_ Gaara was shocked and wasn't sure if Naruto was joking or being serious. "Babies?"

"Yeah! Oh god, Gaara. It's a nightmare!" Naruto covered his face with his hands.

"Could you start at the beginning, Naruto? You aren't making much sense."

Naruto then told his friend all about the contract he had to sign and what the details of it were. "I'm so stupid, aren't I?"

_Yes, you are Naruto._ "Why would you agree to such a thing, Naruto?"

"I didn't believe they would accept my conditions! And then if I said no, then Neji and all the rest of the branch family would continue to be oppressed by the main family. I couldn't let him down after he showed me his curse seal and told me about his father. I had told him after I defeated him in the third exam, that I would help his clan when I became Hokage. But I can't wait till then to do it, when they are willing to change right now. I just have to give up part of myself though, in exchange. I hope that when I turn sixteen, I won't mind so much." _Yeah, I could like Hinata then. She's a little weird now, but she could change in a few years._

_Naruto always tries to help others. He helped me and that is why I care about him so much. But what he has promised the Hyuugas is going a little bit too far. I don't want him giving so much of himself to them. They don't deserve it. He's too good for them._

"Oh, um Gaara, there is something else I need to tell you." Naruto was afraid of what Gaara's reaction, to what he had to tell him next, would be.

_What other trouble has he got into?_ "What?"

"Don't get mad but...I'll be leaving the village with Ero-sennin in two days."

_He's going to leave me again._ "How long will you be gone?"

"Um, maybe a year or two, could be more." Naruto closed his eyes to avoid seeing the shock and anger in his friend's eyes.

_I can't be separated from him that long!_ "I'm going with you."

"Gaara, Ero-sennin only wants me to go, he told me the first time I left with him, that he will only show his techniques to me alone. He won't show them to anyone else. And I'll be spending a lot of time working on them, so we wouldn't be together anyway."

_I should kill that man for taking my Naruto away from me!_ Gaara felt a killer rage. He had to force himself to calm down. "So what do I do while you are away, Naruto. I don't like anyone else in this village."

"Well, you could work on getting closer with your brother and sister, you know. We talked about this before. They are your family and you need more than me in your life." Naruto loved Gaara, but he could see how dependent the red head was on him. He was afraid of what would happen if he should die and Gaara was alone again. His friend needed other people in his life to care about and have care for him.

_I only think of Naruto as my family. But he is leaving me. I almost hate him right now, for that._ Gaara then looked at the blond and realized he could never hate his first and only friend. _I guess I will go back to the Sand village then. I do have a goal there that I could fulfill. I could challenge my father and take the Kazekage title away from him. I'll have to get stronger and more powerful first. Then once I am Kazekage, I will change things for the better in my own village. Just like what Naruto wants to do here. I will make Naruto proud of me._ "You're right, Naruto. I will try to get to know them better and start building a new relationship with them."

* * *

Itachi and Kisame had arrived back at the Akatsuki headquarters and had talked to the leader, who then called for a meeting of all Akatsuki members. 

The leader told them all about what Itachi had said happened when he tried to capture the nine-tailed demon fox's jinchuriki. "Itachi, tell them what you learned later after that incident."

Itachi looked around at the others and then his eyes went back to look at his leader. "After the battle with the fox container, I went back to the village in disguise as a merchant. I went to the place where I had first seen the boy, which was at a ramen stand. I thought to ask the waitress questions to find out more about him. But as I sat at the counter, I was able to overhear two men talking about him. One of the men was Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja and the other was Umino Iruka, a teacher at the Academy. What I was able to find out from their conversation was that the fox container is the son of the late Fourth Hokage and a survivor of the Amarutsu clan."

The others in the room looked at the Uchiha in surprise.

The leader took over from there. "I know a little about the Amarutsu clan. They lived in the Village Hidden in the Clouds and were wiped out by assassins hired by the other clans in that village. I didn't know there had been a survivor. They had a powerful bloodline limit called the Seichuu Chakra, which allowed the person that had it, to be able to have full control over the chakra of others and there are other things the person could do also, but I would have to do some more research on it to know the rest. I do remember that the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans descended from them. Before we go after the fox container again, we will all need to do some research into his bloodline limit and find out what he can do that could be a problem for us. I don't want to wait too long for us to try to capture him again. He's young now and hasn't had a lot of time to develop his power. If we wait too long, he will just get stronger and be harder to capture. This is a top priority for all of us. You are all dismissed."

The other Akatsuki members bowed their heads to their leader and then left the meeting room.

TBC


	14. Homecoming

**Pairings**: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story. SasuNaru begins in this chapter, but will start slowly.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

**This chapter starts out with what happened right before Naruto left the village, then talks about some of the things that happened while he was away, then goes to the present.  
**

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Fourteen** - **Homecoming**

The day before Naruto left Konoha, he had a visit from Neji and Hinata. He had received the contract from the Hyuuga clan the evening before, but hadn't signed it yet, because he was afraid to. Neji and Hinata had found out the details of the contract that morning and had rushed over to Naruto's apartment to try to stop him from signing it. They both made Naruto realize that he doesn't have to give away his own future to help the branch family.

Naruto told them about how he took off Sasuke's curse seal and that he could do it for Neji too. Neji proposed that Naruto use that skill as a threat, to get the Hyuuga main family to take it off themselves. If the clan would do that, then Naruto would become a member of the Hyuuga clan, but wouldn't be forced to marry or father children unless he wanted to do that himself in the future. All three agreed that this was a good plan and after Neji and Hinata left him, Naruto then headed over to the Hokage Tower to tell Tsunade about all of it. Tsunade reminded Naruto of his goal to be the next Hokage and that they could use that against the Hyuuga clan, also. Tsunade went with Naruto to back him up, telling Hyuuga Hiashi that Naruto was her chosen successor. Naruto explained his new terms on what he wanted from the Hyuuga clan.

Hiashi desiring to at least have Naruto on their side and part of their clan, hoping that he could later get the boy to change his mind about having children, persuaded the elders into agreeing with Naruto's terms. Hiashi had already felt bad about Neji anyway, and he really wanted a way to have Neji be the next clan leader since he was the strongest of their youth. After a new contract was drawn up and all parties agreed on it and signed it, Naruto became a member of the Hyuuga clan and changed his family name to Amarutsu-Hyuuga. The curse seals were taken off all the branch family members and both families were combined into one. Neji was then named as the successor to the title of clan leader and would have to start training for his future role.

During the time that Naruto was away from his village, all of his friends became chuunin. Neji, Shino and Sasuke went on to become jounin. Hinata and Chouji started training to become medical ninjas, just like Sakura. Tsunade and Shizune took turns training the three. Neji left his team and went into Anbu to get more experience. Shino became a hunter-nin, leaving his old team. Shikamaru taught at the Academy, occasionally working with Temari, who was now a jounin and would travel back and forth between the Sand and Leaf villages. She worked for the academies of both villages. Ino, together with Chouji and Asuma, continued to do missions. Kiba and Hinata worked with Kurenai as a team doing missions. Since Sakura didn't have her teammates anymore, she concentrated the majority of her time in training, working at the hospital and at the Academy. She would sometimes go on missions with Lee, Tenten and Gai, since they didn't have a medic nin in their team. Kakashi went on to do solo missions or sometimes partnered up with other jounin. Iruka kept teaching at the Academy.

Sasuke joined the Anbu, like Neji. Both teens became more friendlier toward each other. Despite his goal to kill his brother, Sasuke had started to enjoy the process of getting stronger, more than brooding about his brother and wanting to run off to hunt him down and kill him. He had seen how much he had let his hate consume his life, time and training helped to mellow him out a bit and give him something else to think about. He also realized he missed Naruto. When the blond had left, he didn't think he would care that much. He felt that the other was an unneeded distraction and also would overshadow his own achievements. He had felt resentment and jealousy toward his teammate, despite that though, he still cared if Naruto lived or died.

When Sasuke heard that Naruto was coming back and should be back sometime that week, he found himself thinking of what changes there would be in the blond. What will Naruto be able to do now? How much stronger was he? Will he still be the happy, friendly, immature person he was before? Sasuke hoped the blond had grown up some in personality, but he realized he missed the boy's smile and wanted to see that again.

Gaara had defeated his father in a battle for the title of Kazekage, the red head had been the Kazekage for a year now. He had brought the alliance between Sand and Leaf closer together and more trusting of each other. He knew that his village needed such a strong alliance to keep peace and to grow their economy. A lot of changes had been made by Gaara, and the Sand villagers and ninja had grown to respect the boy and some even felt affection toward him.

Gaara had missed Naruto a lot, he had thought of him nearly everyday during their first year of separation. At first he had thought his feelings were maybe becoming romantic in nature. Gaara had read some of his sister's romance books and had seen some similarities in how the characters seem to feel about each other and how he felt for Naruto. At first, he actually believed he was in love with his friend. But after some more time passed, he realized that even though he loved Naruto more than as just a friend, his feelings were more like close brothers would have, not like lovers. He realized it because of the new closeness he felt toward Kankuro. Gaara's feelings for Naruto and Kankuro were the same, and he didn't feel romantic toward Kankuro, not one little bit. So now that Gaara knew he thought of Naruto as a younger brother, one that he loved a lot, he looked forward to seeing him again and finding out how he had grown up over the last few years.

Various members of the Akatsuki, came after Naruto during his time away from Konoha. Some of them went away from their battles with the blond, severely injured almost to the point of death. Kisame was one of those people. Itachi, still being strong enough to fight against Naruto without the boy killing him, but not strong enough to capture the fox container, was intrigued by the boy's power and the fact that the Uchiha's were descendants of Naruto's clan, the Amarutsu. He was beginning to no longer care about the fox, realizing that the bloodline limit of the container was more powerful and more useful. He still wanted to capture Naruto, but he saw that just attacking him, was not the way to get him. It was a waste of his time.

As for Naruto, he thought about what power he could get from the fox. Despite what Jiraiya thought he should do, which was to forget the fox even existed. Naruto felt that would be a waste. He had a bloodline limit that was powerful enough to control the fox, his father had said that was why he felt Naruto was the best candidate as the container. Naruto had no intention though of merging with the fox or letting it take control of him. Naruto could take off the seal that Orochimaru put on him and since he knew he could control the fox's chakra...he decided to do it. He also decided he was going to reinforce the strength of the cage surrounding the fox to make sure it could never get out. He only wanted it's power, he didn't want to be friends or talk with it.

The week before Naruto and Jiraiya left the Earth country to head back to the village of Konoha, Naruto took off the seal that Orochimaru had put on him. He had felt the fox's chakra then start leaking out of it's original seal and quickly used his own chakra to convert it to a more stable and less controlling state. He put up a strong barrier around the cage of the fox and stopped the leak from flowing out on it's own. He wanted to be able to control when and how much of the fox's chakra he would allow to get into his own chakra paths. He didn't tell Jiraiya what he had done. He wanted to prove to himself first, that he was able to handle it without losing any of his humanness.

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya walked into the village of Konoha, Naruto being the more excited of the two. 

"I can't wait to see everyone, Ero-sennin! Who should I go see first?" He wasn't really asking Jiraiya that, he was asking himself.

Jiraiya not knowing that, answered him. "You go see Tsunade now, brat. I'm sure she wants to see how you've grown."

Naruto looked at the old man and frowned. "I can see her later. I was talking about my friends. I think I'll go see Iruka first though, get him to treat me to some ramen." He grinned.

"Go do what you want, brat, just don't forget to go see Tsunade later, she'll have both our heads if you forget her. I'm going to go do some research now. See you later." The white haired sannin waved at the boy and turned down another street that led to one of his favorite places to do research at.

Naruto headed to the Academy. When he got there, he looked for Iruka and was told by one of the teachers there, that the man was in the staff room. He pointed the way for the blond. Naruto knocked on the door and then walked in. When he saw the familiar face of his old sensei, a huge grin spread over his face and he ran over to Iruka and hugged him. "Iruka-sensei!"

The brown haired chuunin hugged his former student back, smiling too. Then he unwrapped his arms from around the boy and pushed him back, so he could get a good look at him. _Naruto is taller, he's actually only an inch or so shorter than me now. He's stopped wearing orange too, thank goodness. He didn't cut his hair either, he's wearing it in a braid. He looks very different from the boy that I taught in the Academy. But his smile is the same._ "You've really grown, Naruto. How have you been?"

"I've been doing pretty good, Iruka-sensei. Jiraiya taught me a lot of new jutsus and he let me sign a contract to summon frogs, like he did with my father."

"I wouldn't mind seeing some of these new skills of your's someday soon. Looks like you have been eating well enough, you're thin but not as thin as you used to be. I hope you have been eating more than ramen these past three years." He tried to sound stern, but couldn't keep from smiling at the boy. He was so proud of how Naruto was growing up.

"Sure, when you have time, I'd love to show you what I can do. As for ramen, well, no, I've been eating more than just ramen, but I do still love it the best. I was hoping if you have the time, we can go over to Ichiraku's. It has the best ramen!" He looked hopefully at his former teacher.

Iruka laughed. "Alright, I have finished here for the day and I do feel a bit hungry myself. Why don't I treat us both to some ramen, eh?"

"Great!" Naruto hugged the chuunin again and then took him by the arm, nearly dragging him out of the office.

Iruka just laughed and let the boy have his way.

* * *

After Naruto and Iruka had finished eating and were leaving the ramen stand, the blond nearly ran into someone that had been been about to go through the flaps of the entrance to the stand. Both boys stood in front of each other and stared in surprise. 

The dark haired teen got his voice back first. "Hi Naruto. So you're back."

Naruto got over his surprise and then smiled at his old teammate. "Sasuke! Yeah, I got back not too long ago."

Iruka smiled at both his former students. "Hello Sasuke."

The raven haired teen looked at Iruka and nodded to him in greeting. "Hello Iruka." Unlike Naruto, Sasuke had stopped referring to Iruka as his sensei. He not only outranked him now, but it had been quite some time since the man had been his teacher.

"Well, I enjoyed sitting and talking with you again Naruto, but I do have to go to the Hokage Tower right now and do some paperwork there. I hope to see you again soon."

Naruto turned to Iruka and gave him a hug and then released him. "I had fun seeing you again too, Iruka-sensei. Maybe we can do this again later this week."

"Of course. Well, goodbye Naruto and Sasuke." Iruka waved to them and then left them alone.

"Even though you have already ate, Naruto, would you mind sitting with me while I eat. I want to find out how you have been." The normally stoic ninja had a half-smile on his face and his eyes told Naruto that he was very interested in talking with him.

Naruto was surprised. _Sasuke has really changed. He's not acting cold toward me and he wants to talk. Wow, this is so strange. But I'm glad he's changed._ "Sure." Naruto sat back down at the counter after Sasuke took a seat.

Sasuke gave the waitress his order. It was a new waitress and not Ayame. He turned to look at Naruto. _I can't believe how much he's changed. I'm pleased that he quit wearing orange. He looks more like a serious ninja now. And the black makes his skin tone, hair and eyes stand out more._ Sasuke shifted in his seat. A blush started forming on his cheeks and he turned away from looking at the blond. _What is happening to me? Why am I feeling weird around him?_ He cleared his throat. "So, Naruto, you must have learned a lot in the last three years."

Naruto had noticed Sasuke seemed to be uncomfortable and had blushed. _What's wrong with Sasuke? Why is he acting like that?_ "Um, yeah, I learned a lot of new things. How about you?"

The waitress came back and put a bowl of miso ramen in front of Sasuke and then left. "I've been getting stronger. I've also learned more about genjutsu and how to use it with the Mangekyo Sharingan. Kakashi has let me use him as a guinea pig."

Naruto looked with surprise at his old teammate. "What? You mean Kakashi actually lets you experiment on him?" _That is so cool of him though! Kakashi isn't afraid of anything._

Sasuke managed to eat his food and talk with Naruto, still maintaining good table manners. "Yes, he wants to help me learn how to use it and no one else would want to do that."

_I would. But he doesn't need me if he has Kakashi._ "I see you are a jounin now. Who else is, out of our friends?"

_Our friends. There was a time when I didn't want any friends. Naruto showed me that you can have friends and still be strong and powerful._ "Shino and Neji. If you count the Sand siblings as friends, then Temari and Kankuro also."

"Out of our Leaf ninja friends then, only you, Shino and Neji became jounins? Everyone else chuunin?" Naruto was surprised that Shikamaru hadn't become jounin too.

"That's right. Sakura, Hinata and Chouji are now medic nins and serve in that capacity on missions."

"Cool! I knew Sakura was studying for it and Hinata was always making healing potions, but I'm surprised about Chouji."

"Well, Chouji wanted to be able to do more for his team. That's why he did it. You know about Gaara yet?"

"Yeah, I know he's the Kazekage now. I learned about it a few months after it happened, when I was near the Hidden Grass village. People had been talking about it. I'm so happy for him and I can't wait to see him again. Jiraiya never wanted to go near the Sand village. He said it was too hot and dry there. "

Sasuke still didn't like Gaara that much, but he did respect him, because of how he had changed things in the Sand village for the better. He heard that the red head was now respected there. "He's been doing a good job as Kazekage from what I've heard."

Naruto looked at Sasuke in surprise. _He just complimented Gaara! Is this really Sasuke?_ Then Naruto smiled at him. "Sasuke you have changed quite a lot. I'm really happy to see you like this."

Sasuke turned to look at the blond. He could see the sincerity in the blue eyes. "Yes, I have changed some. I still will kill Itachi one day, but I'm not letting him destroy my life. Before I was becoming just like him, I didn't even see it. But you helped to open my eyes, Naruto."

"Me?" Naruto was surprised. _What did I do?_

"Yes, you. I realized I was so self-absorbed and didn't see that there were others that had as much loneliness and pain in their lives too. Especially you. You had to grow up without your parents and carrying around a demon inside you. Yet, you smiled and made friends. You helped others and didn't let the bad things that had happened to you, consume you. I realized I could become more like that. I could take control of my own life and make it better."

"Sasuke, I'm glad you finally saw that and changed your life. I really like you so much better this way. You look content with your life and your voice is no longer cold. You need to smile more though!" Naruto grinned.

"Hn. I'm not about to go around smiling all the time like you, dobe."

"Hey! You were doing good for awhile there until you started with the dobe thing again!" He mock glared at the dark haired boy. Naruto couldn't be mad at him though, because he could tell that Sasuke had said it in jest. _Sasuke actually has a sense of humor now!_

Sasuke looked away from Naruto, so that he wouldn't see the smile on his face.

* * *

Later that day after Naruto had went around the village visiting his former classmates and friends, he headed to the Hokage Tower to make his last visit for the day. After he got to the Hokage office, he knocked on the door. Instead of barging in like he did in the past, Naruto had learned to respect the privacy of others better. Too many embarrassing moments of walking into Ero-sennin's hotel rooms, had taught him that patience was much better than having your mind scarred for life. He knocked again, louder this time when he heard no answer. 

"Come in, dammit!"

Naruto opened the door and stepped into the office. He saw the Hokage sitting at her desk, staring at him. He closed the door behind him and walked up to stand in front of her desk. "Hey Tsunade ba-sama!"

"Hmm, you sound like Naruto, and you seem to have learned some manners now, but where's the orange, brat?"

Naruto laughed. "You want me to go change?"

"Hell no!" She got up from her chair and walked around the desk. When she got to Naruto, she pulled him into a big hug. Thankfully Naruto was now tall enough to avoid having his face crushed into her big breasts.

Naruto hugged back. "It's good to see you again, too." He laughed.

Tsunade let go of the blond boy and stepped back from him. "You are one good looking boy, you know that? A few more years and I might forget I think of you like a little brother." She winked at him mischievously, then walked back around her desk and sat down again.

Naruto was blushing, but also was a bit disturbed at the the thought of Tsunade interested in him that way. _That is just so eww! She's way too old for me. She's a female pervert. _"Um, Tsunade-sama, where I am going to stay now? My old apartment was rented out and I don't want to live with the Hyuuga's. Way too crowded there." _Actually I'm worried they might try to steal my sperm or something even more horrible than that!  
_

"Ah." The Hokage opened a drawer in her desk and rummaged around in it until finding what she was looking for. She placed a set of keys on the desk in front of the boy. "Take those keys, they will get you into the Kazuma compound and you can live in your parent's old house. There are training grounds there that you can use too. I'm sure there are many things lying around the house that will be of interest to you."

Naruto was excited, he snatched up the keys and turned to rush off, then thought of something. He turned back to look at the Hokage. "Um, where is my home at? I've never been there before."

Tsunade looked again in one of her drawers and pulled out a map of the village. She circled the place on the map where the Kazuma compound was located. She then handed the map to Naruto. "Use that."

Naruto took it and then smiled with happiness at the woman. "Thank you, Tsunade ba-um sama!" Then he turned around quickly, rushed to the door and opened it, then forgetting to close it behind him, he ran down the hall, in a rush to get to his new home.

TBC


	15. Sasuke and Naruto grow closer

**Pairings**: SasuNaru

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai and Yaoi (boy x boy love), so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Fifteen** – **Sasuke and Naruto grow closer**

Naruto loved his new home. _I wish I could have grown up here._ He had found a picture of his parents on the desk of a room his father had used as an office. _They looked so happy together._ Naruto looked around the room and went through some of the drawers in the desk. He found scrolls that had on them, what looked like new jutsus that his father had been trying to create, and some scrolls contained notes that the man had written to himself. _I'll just read all of these later._

Naruto had created about ten clones to clean the house for him and had even created one to go shopping for food, which allowed him to be able to explore all the rooms. The blond was now tired though and decided he had seen enough of his home for one day. _I really need to buy new clothes too, but I'll leave that for tomorrow._ He left his father's office and headed to the kitchen to make himself a meal. His clones were all finished with their chores so he dismissed them. Naruto got two cups of ramen out of one of his cabinets and then set a kettle, filled with water, on the stove to heat.

After Naruto had eaten his ramen and threw away the cups, he decided to take a nap. So he headed up to his parent's bedroom. He had chosen to use that room as his own bedroom, because it made him feel closer to his mother and father. He stripped down to his boxers and then pulled the covers down. He got into bed and pulled the covers back over him, falling to sleep right away.

* * *

During the time that Naruto had been exploring his new home, Sasuke had been training at the Uchiha training grounds on his estate. He had learned hundreds of new jutsus during the years that Naruto had been away. Sasuke had also received training under Gai, and was now even better at taijutsu than Rock Lee. Even though Lee was always a hard worker, he couldn't compare with a Sasuke who had also become a very hard worker. The young Uchiha had learned how to push his emotions out of his mind and focus only on getting stronger. In the past, he focused on revenge and hatred for his brother and that is what kept him from learning more and growing in strength. He had been strong before, but his full potential hadn't been tapped into. Now it was. 

But today, he had to struggle to focus his mind only on his training. He kept finding himself thinking of his blond haired friend. He would stop in the middle of what he had been doing and just stare off into space. _I never noticed how beautiful Naruto's eyes were before. I know they've always stood out before, but somehow they are even more compelling now. I missed that smile of his, too. The way it just lights up his whole face._ Sasuke shook his head to clear it from those thoughts. _What is wrong with me?_ He started to practice some more taijutsu moves he had recently come up with, but a few minutes later, he stopped again. _I wonder what Naruto is doing now. Would he be at the ramen stand? He probably didn't get to have ramen as much being on the road with that white haired sannin. Damn! I need to focus!_ Sasuke tried to get his mind back on his training, but realized after a few more minutes that it was hopeless. So he left the training area and headed back in the direction of his house.

* * *

Itachi found out that the fox boy had returned to Konoha and decided to go there himself. He asked the Akatsuki leader if he could go on an extended vacation. He told the leader that he would use the time to find out more about the fox container and how to defeat him. The Akatsuki leader still wanted to get the nine-tailed fox under their control, so he gave Itachi his permission. 

Itachi had come up with a plan that would allow him to befriend Naruto without anyone knowing who he is. He had learned a genjutsu that could fool anyone into thinking he was someone else. But he hadn't tested it on Naruto and he wasn't sure if the fox boy would be able to see through it or not. The dark haired man knew that the bloodline limit that the boy possessed was supposed to allow for him to be able to see through any genjutsu, but this was no ordinary jutsu. The only way that Itachi would know for sure was just to use it and approach Naruto, then see what happens.

If it worked, then he would have to win the boy's trust and friendship. He knew the demon container had weaknesses that he could exploit. The boy made friends easily and then trusted them. He was loyal to his friends too. That is what Itachi wanted from Naruto. His trust and loyalty and then with that, he would find out everything he could about what the blond boy could do, and he would poison Naruto's mind against his other friends. Itachi would then be his only friend. _This must work. To have that boy willingly hand me over his power is much better and would even be more satisfying than trying to force him._

* * *

After Sasuke had showered and changed his clothes, he had left his house and then went to the village to look for Naruto. When he couldn't find the blond boy anywhere, he decided to go to the Hokage, to see if she knew where Naruto was living now. She had been reluctant at first to tell him, but when he told her that he and Naruto were becoming friends now, Tsunade decided it would be alright for the Uchiha to know. Now Sasuke was standing at the front door of the Kazuma home. He knocked on the door and waited for the blond to answer. It took several hard knocks before the door was finally opened. 

Naruto had been sleeping and he wasn't very happy about having his rest disturbed. He was going to yell at the person responsible until he saw it was Sasuke, standing there. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke couldn't answer, because he was too busy staring at the blond's bare chest. The young Uchiha's face started turning pink. His eyes then drifted down further to look at the bare legs.

Naruto didn't understand what was wrong with Sasuke until he saw where the boy's eyes were looking. The blond realized he had answered the door wearing only his boxers. Naruto blushed. "Uh, um, come in." He stepped back to let the other boy in, then turned to run up the stairs. "I'll be back in a minute!" Naruto rushed up the stairs to go to his room and throw some clothes on.

When Sasuke could no longer see Naruto, he was able to finally get control of himself again. _God, Naruto is hot! I can't believe how seeing him like that is affecting me. I had seen him in only boxers before, when we were younger, but it had never affected me like this._ Sasuke walked into the living room and sat down in one of the chairs. He had to try to get his body back to normal. He had an erection and he didn't want Naruto to see it.

The blond came back downstairs and then went into the living room. He saw that Sasuke was already sitting down and so he went to another chair, that was across from the raven haired boy, and sat down himself. "Um, sorry about that, Sasuke. I was sleeping and forgot to get dressed before coming down." Naruto started to blush in embarrassment. He didn't look in the other boy's eyes.

Sasuke took a deep breath, then found his voice. "Don't worry about it Naruto. So how do you like your new home?"

Naruto smiled, then looked in the other's eyes. "I love it, Sasuke! There are things of my parent's all over here. It will take me weeks to go through everything." Then the blond's expression became wistful. "I just wish I had known about this when I was younger. I would have loved growing up in this place. It would have made it less painful, to know I had loving parents and a home."

Sasuke felt something tugging at his heartstrings. _I was able to grow up in my family's home and I even got to be with my parents for a while. Naruto was alone for so many years. Yet he doesn't seem bitter at all. I was such a fool before. I was selfish when I should have been his friend._ "Well, you have plenty of time now to get to know more about them." Then Sasuke decided to change the subject. "You're still a chuunin, aren't you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I didn't get the chance to take the jounin exams. I guess I'll take the next ones. Do you know when they will be?"

"Next month on the sixteenth. Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Tenten and Chouji are going to take them."

"What about Shikamaru?" _He's the smartest of our group!_

Sasuke smirked. "Too lazy."

Naruto was surprised. "What? That baka! I can't believe it!" Then Naruto thought about Shikamaru's personality again. "Okay, I guess I can believe it. What about Lee then?"

"Well, Lee is better now, but he still only uses taijutsu and that won't be enough for him to pass the jounin exams."

_I need to help Lee! But how?_ "He has plenty of chakra reserves doesn't he?"

"He has enough for the basics, Naruto, but he has to open the chakra gates in order to get more power and that is dangerous. He doesn't have enough chakra to be able to do high level ninjutsu and genjutsu."

"I think I'll take a look at Lee tomorrow and see if there is anything I can do about that. I want him to be able to fulfill his dream of being one of the greatest ninjas. I know he can't be that happy to see all his friends becoming jounins without him."

_Naruto still has such a big heart. He is always looking for ways to help those he cares about. He needs someone to do the same for him. _"Naruto, now that you are back, do you want to do some training with me everyday? When neither of us are on missions, of course."

The blond looked at the other boy in surprise. Then he smiled. "Sure Sasuke! That would be great!" _Sasuke has been so nice to me since I came back. It's so hard to believe how much he's changed. I really like this new Sasuke._

"Would early morning be fine with you, dobe?"

Naruto no longer got mad at Sasuke for calling him a dobe. His friend didn't use it as an insult anymore. It seemed to be a nickname now. "Sure, about eight and we meet at the bridge like we used to?"

"That would be fine."

Both boys were smiling at each other and remembering when they used to meet as team seven every morning.

Sasuke then realized he was hungry. "Naruto, you want to go get some ramen now?"

The blond boy grinned and jumped up from his chair. "Yeah! I'm starving!"

Sasuke laughed and stood up too. "Some things never change."

Both boys left the house in good spirits.

* * *

That night, as Naruto laid in his bed, his thoughts were on his dark haired friend. _I had so much fun spending time with Sasuke today! It feels like a real friendship now. I never knew he could smile so much. And he laughed! He seems so content with his life now. It makes me happy. The way he was before, made it hard to get along with him or to even feel sorry for him. I wanted to like him more back then, but he would make me feel so angry a lot. I had a hard time trying to be his friend. As much as I still care for Gaara as a friend, and miss him...I am really feeling closer to Sasuke now. Three years ago, I would never have believed I would want to spend more time around Sasuke. Now, I look forward to seeing him again. I can't wait!_ Naruto fell asleep with thoughts of his new best friend running through his mind. 

On the other side of town, in the Uchiha house, Sasuke was doing the same as his blond haired friend. He was thinking about their new relationship and how happy he felt about it. _I actually had fun today. I had forgotten what it felt like, until the dobe reminded me. I can't believe that I once thought that friendship was something that would make me weak. I pushed him away so many times, not letting him get close, not wanting to get close to him. But this attraction I feel for him is bothering me. Friendship is one thing, but to have a romantic relationship with someone is not what I am looking for. Not now. My main goal in life is to first kill Itachi. Only once he is dead, will I be able to have a normal life. But I also have a second goal and that is to rebuild the Uchiha clan. I can't do that with another man. I have to marry a female and have children. I need to fight this attraction I have for Naruto. I will only be his best friend, nothing more. At least he doesn't seem to notice. I'm sure he's straight anyway. He used to have a crush on Sakura after all. So I don't have to worry about him thinking of me as more than a friend. I just have to get my own feelings under control._

* * *

A few days later, after Naruto had returned from a short B rank mission, he entered the ramen stand and sat down at the counter, then ordered some shrimp ramen. There was a young man, about his own age, sitting a couple of chairs over from him. The teen was very attractive, and had light brown hair and friendly, violet colored eyes. Naruto noticed the boy looking at him, so he nodded at the stranger and smiled. "Hi." 

The stranger nodded and smiled back at the blond. "Hello. They serve really good ramen here, don't they?"

Naruto grinned. "The best! Are you new in town?"

The other boy nodded. "Yes, I just moved here the other day. My name is Amano Sudai." He reached across the chair, between them, to offer his hand to the blond.

Naruto shook his hand, smiling. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto sat back after they had shook hands. "Are you a ninja?"

Sudai smiled back. "Yes, but I'm waiting for the approval of the Hokage before I'll be allowed to become a Leaf ninja. My rank is chuunin and I want to participate in the upcoming jounin exams."

"Cool! I'll be taking them too!" Naruto then turned his attention to his bowl of ramen, that had been getting cool while he was talking. He devoured it quickly, then turned back to the other boy. He saw the boy was still looking at him.

Sudai grinned at the blond. "You sure do eat fast."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, everyone says that."

Sudai paid for his meal, then stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Naruto-kun. I hope to see you around again sometime."

"It was nice meeting you too, Sudai." After the the brunette had left, Naruto ordered another bowl of shrimp ramen.

Itachi, now going by the name of Amano Sudai, smiled as he walked down the street to head back to the apartment he was now living in. _Naruto didn't see through my genjutsu. He is so predictable too. He accepted me right away. It will be easy to become his friend. But getting him to abandon all of his other friends will not be as easy._

* * *

Later that day, Naruto was on his way to visit Sasuke. His friend had told him that he would be back from his mission before noon. It was now two o'clock in the afternoon, so Naruto figured the other boy should be home now. When he got to the house, he knocked on the door. 

Sasuke opened the door and greeted the blond, then invited him in. "You want something to drink?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, some water." The blond then went into the living room and took a seat on the couch.

A couple minutes later, Sasuke came into the room and walked over to Naruto, then handed him a glass of water. He sat down beside him on the couch. "I have the morning off tomorrow, do you?"

Naruto had taken a drink of the water and then set the glass down on the coffee table. He looked at his friend. "Yeah, I have a mission tomorrow, but I don't have to leave until eleven am, so I have some time to train with you if you want."

"That would be good. We haven't had a chance to do it yet, since we talked about it a few days ago." Sasuke was having a hard time keeping himself from staring at the blond. _Why do I keep thinking about how beautiful he looks? I should stop spending so much time with him. The more I'm around him, the harder it is for me to think of him as just a friend. I've even been having dreams about him, the past two nights. But I don't want to push him away. He's the only real friend I have and I enjoy being able to talk with him. I can't talk with anyone else like I can with him. I don't want to be alone anymore. If only I could keep my hormones from messing with me._

Naruto noticed that Sasuke seemed to be distracted. He took the time to study his friend. _Lately I've been able to see why all the girls are crazy about him. I never understood it before. I guess it was because of how cold he was. But now that he has changed, I can see how attractive he is. I find it hard not to just stare at him. He's so beautiful. I love to look at his hands too, they are so graceful looking, with those long fingers. More beautiful than any hands I've ever seen. Do I have a crush on Sasuke? What I am feeling about him is much stronger than what I felt about Sakura. I've always admired him, even when I didn't like him as much. I wanted to be like him. I wanted him to acknowledge me. Now I have his attention and his friendship. I haven't seen him giving it to anyone else. Am I the one he cares most about, besides his brother?_ "Sasuke?"

Sasuke heard Naruto call his name and gave him his attention. "Yes?"

"Am I your best friend now?"

Sasuke smiled. "Yes. Am I yours?"

Naruto smiled back. "Yes!"

"What about Gaara?"

"Gaara is still my friend, but he is busy being the Kazekage now, and he is so far away. You are right here and I enjoy spending time with you. I feel like I could tell you anything and trust you with it."

"I feel the same way about you." Sasuke looked away. "I'm glad you are back now, Naruto. I missed you."

Naruto blushed. "I'm glad I'm back too. And I'm glad you and I have become closer."

_If only we could get even closer, Naruto. But I can't do that. I have to rebuild my clan and you can't help me with that. If I became selfish and tried to have you and then married some female, it may ruin our friendship. I could lose you. Besides, I doubt you are attracted to me in that way._ Sasuke looked at the blond then. "Will you stay for dinner?"

Naruto smiled happily at his friend. "Sure! That would be great."

TBC


	16. Confessions

**Pairings**: SasuNaru

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai and Yaoi (boy x boy love), so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Sixteen** - **Confessions**

During dinner, Naruto brought up the subject of Lee and what he had done to try to help the older boy. "Because he is in great physical shape, I was able to push quite a bit of my chakra into him and I even managed to widen his chakra pathways and they will stay that way permanently, I think. Gai is going to teach him all the ninjutsu and genjutsu he knows that he wasn't able to teach him before. That will get him up to par to be able to participate in the jounin exams. I asked Lee to be my partner in the exams, since they require you to be in pairs for the first two exams. He agreed to be my partner." Naruto smiled as he remembered the excitement of the other boy.

"Lee's a good choice." Sasuke couldn't stop staring at the blond. All through dinner, his eyes would look over the features of the other boy and many times he would lose himself in turquoise eyes. He managed to hear the words of the blond only because he loved to listen to his voice, too.

"I would have picked Kiba if Lee couldn't have been in it. But Lee and I get along even better than Kiba and I do."

_All three of them used to be so loud and annoying. They had a lot in common. But Naruto has grown so mature and his voice no longer bothers me. It seems to fit with the rest of him, so beautiful._

Naruto noticed that Sasuke was quiet and looked at him. He saw that the boy had a strange looking smile on his face and his eyes were staring at him, but in a way that looked like he was thinking about something. "Sasuke? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. Let's go into the living room now. I'll clean this all up later." Sasuke got up from the table.

Naruto was finished eating too, so he got up and then followed the boy into the other room. He decided to sit beside Sasuke on the couch. Whenever he had a chance to get closer to the raven haired boy, he was going take it. He had admitted to himself earlier, when he was left alone while Sasuke was preparing dinner, that he had a crush on his friend. He wasn't going to tell his friend about it, but he wasn't going to fight it either. He was hoping that maybe one day, Sasuke would care for him too, as more than a friend. Naruto looked at the raven haired boy and smiled. "I wish I had been here to take the jounin exams with you."

Sasuke smiled back. "I do too. Why did you stay away so long?"

"Well, Ero-sennin had a lot to teach me and it took time for me to get the new techniques perfected. I had to practice alone. He kept going off to whatever local village we were staying near, to do his research."

"Research on what?"

"Oh, I guess you don't know about him. You know those books that Kakashi-sensei reads a lot? Ero-sennin writes those."

Sasuke grimaced in distaste. "No wonder you call him by that name. I meant to ask you about that before."

Naruto laughed. "Yep, he's definitely a perverted hermit! You wouldn't believe all the things he tried to get me to do, to help with his research."

Sasuke looked at the blond in shock. Then he felt anger inside. _What did that old pervert try to do to my Naruto! _Sasuke didn't realize he had thought of Naruto possessively.

Naruto saw the shock on his friend's face and grinned. "Don't worry! I refused. There's no way I'd let that pervert make me just like him. That's why I stayed out of the villages as much as possible, unless I needed supplies or food. Sometimes we would have to leave in a hurry too, if he pissed off the villagers by getting caught spying on the women."

_It sounds like Naruto wasn't interested in spying himself. Does he not like women? What if I have a chance?_ Sasuke looked into the blond's eyes that were still filled with amusement. _I want to kiss him, but I can't take the chance that he would call me perverted and then not want to have anything to do with me anymore. I can't take that risk._

Naruto sobered up as he stared back into Sasuke's eyes. _It's so hard to resist him. Does he have any idea what he does to me? How he makes me feel?_ Naruto wasn't aware that he was leaning towards the other boy. His face drawing closer.

Sasuke realized that his face had somehow gotten closer to Naruto's. _How did that happen?_ He could feel the breath of the other boy on his lips, making them tingle. _All I have to do is lean a little further and I can taste those beautiful lips._ Sasuke came back to his senses and pulled away.

Naruto felt disappointed that Sasuke had pulled away from him. _I think I better go now before I do something that would freak Sasuke out. I'm sure he's wondering why I got so close to him._ "I think I need to go home now, Sasuke. I'll see you tomorrow morning at the training grounds, right?" Naruto stood up.

Sasuke stood up too and moved to the side so that Naruto could get by him. "Sure. Since you have to go on a mission at eleven, let's meet at seven then, so we have more time." He followed the blond to the door.

Naruto turned to face Sasuke when he got to the door. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Well, thanks for the great meal."

"Anytime." Sasuke held the door open to let the blond walk out. "Good night, Naruto."

Naruto turned and waved. "Good night, Sasuke." Then the blonde turned away and headed home.

Sasuke closed the door, then walked to his kitchen. He had to clean the dishes and the mess he made from cooking the meal. As he cleaned, he thought about his feelings for the blond. _Somehow Naruto has become the most important person in my life. I've been thinking about him more than I have about Itachi._ He frowned as he thought of his brother. _I still have to kill him and avenge my clan. I shouldn't be allowing myself to care so much about Naruto. It's a distraction. It's even affecting me in my training and on missions. But what can I do? I've tried to stop thinking about him, but it doesn't work. I've even thought about avoiding him, but I doubt that would stop me from thinking about him. I need him in my life. The light within him keeps me from the darkness._

After Sasuke was finished cleaning, he left the kitchen and headed up to his bedroom. He undressed, grabbed his pajamas, then headed to the bathroom. He took a shower, then after the shower he dried off, got into his pajamas, then brushed his teeth. He had been thinking of Naruto the entire time he was in the bathroom and he continued to think of him, long after he had gone to bed. He fell asleep thinking of the person he was beginning to realize he was in love with.

* * *

The next morning, after the two boys had finished sparring, they sat side by side on the grass to catch their breaths. They had been only using taijutsu, because both felt the need to exercise their bodies and Naruto wanted to work on improving his skills in that area. The blond realized he had a long way to go, if he ever wanted to be a good match for Sasuke.

"You're even better than Lee now, in taijutsu. I bet you've learned a lot of new ninjutsu too." Naruto was smiling with pride at his friend.

Sasuke shrugged. "Kakashi has taught me a lot of what he has learned over the years, as far as ninjutsu and genjutsu goes. Gai trained me in taijutsu. I also trained some under Kurenai, Hayate, and Genma. Hayate taught me how to use a katana, among other things."

_Sasuke has learned so much! It won't be long before he's strong enough to go after Itachi. But I'm afraid of that day. I don't want to lose Sasuke._ Naruto forced himself to smile at the dark haired boy. "You have become very strong now, Sasuke."

"I guess." Sasuke was finding it hard now to stay focused on their conversation. He had debated with himself about whether or not he should act on his feelings for the blond. After he had woke up this morning, he had remembered his last thoughts before falling asleep. He was in love with Naruto. But he didn't know if he should do anything about it.

_Sasuke has been mostly quiet this morning. Has he figured out that I am interested in him as more than a friend? When I almost kissed him last night, he must have noticed. But he showed up this morning and didn't look at me with disgust. What is making him so quiet then?_ "Is something wrong, Sasuke?"

Sasuke wasn't used to speaking about his feelings to others. But he wasn't a coward either. The only thing holding him back from revealing his feelings to the blond, was the fear that he would lose his best friend. His only true friend. _I can't keep pretending though. How can I keep seeing him and having to lie to him when he asks what is wrong? I don't want our friendship based on lies._ Sasuke turned himself to face Naruto. He looked into his eyes. "Naruto, I don't want to lie to you and I don't want to be a coward either. There is something I have to tell you and I just hope that you will still be my friend after you hear it."

Naruto was surprised at the serious tone of Sasuke's voice. He could even sense that his friend was afraid of what Naruto's response would be. "Sasuke, I will always be your friend, no matter what. You can tell me anything."

Sasuke couldn't look the other boy in the eyes as he said his next words, because he was afraid he would lose his courage to speak, so he looked down to the ground instead. "Ever since you've been back and I've spent time getting to know you again...my feelings for you have grown beyond just caring for you as a friend. I...think about you all the time. I love you, Naruto."

Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock. _He just said he loves me, didn't he? I can't believe it! He feels the same way about me as I do for him?_ Then Naruto realized that his feelings for Sasuke were too strong to be just a crush, it was actually love instead that he was feeling. The blond got up the courage to admit his own feelings, too. "I love you too, Sasuke."

Sasuke raised his head and looked at Naruto with surprise and wonder on his face. "You do?"

Naruto smiled at him. "Yes, I do."

They both continued to stare at each other for a couple of minutes. Naruto then came back to his senses enough to ask a question. "So, what happens now?"

Sasuke grinned, which surprised the hell out of Naruto who had never seen the Uchiha ever grin like that before. What happened next, shocked the blond even more. Sasuke moved over close to Naruto and then leaned forward. He tilted his head, then pressed his lips against the other's.

Sasuke then grabbed the blond by the shoulders and pushed him back to lie on the ground. The raven haired boy pressed his lips even harder against the other's and when Naruto gasped in surprise, Sasuke slipped his tongue into his mouth and started exploring it.

Naruto moaned into Sasuke's mouth and started moving his own tongue against the other's. Soon their tongues were battling for dominance and both boys began moaning at the pleasure it was giving them.

They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly. Sasuke pulled away and turned his head to see who was intruding on them. He didn't recognize the boy.

Naruto recognized him though. His face turned red in embarrassment at being caught in a compromising position. "Um, hey Sudai. What are you doing here?"

_Naruto knows this boy?_ Sasuke felt jealousy toward the other boy, because not only was he about the same age as them, but was very attractive looking too.

Sudai smiled apologetically at the boys. "Sorry to interrupt you, but I thought you wouldn't want to get caught like this by others. There are other people in this area."

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked around and noticed that indeed, there were other people around and they may have witnessed what they had been doing. Both turned red. Sasuke got up off Naruto and brushed himself off.

Naruto got up too. He faced Sudai, but couldn't look him in the eyes. "Thank you."

"No problem." He looked at Sasuke and held out his hand to him. "We haven't met. I'm Amano Sudai.

Sasuke ignored the hand and just nodded at him. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Sudai dropped his hand and turned to smile at the blond boy. "Well, I have to get back to my training. I hope to see you again soon, Naruto-kun." He nodded at Sasuke, then turned and left.

"Bye Sudai." Naruto wasn't sure he wanted to see Sudai again for a while. Even though he loved Sasuke and enjoyed the kiss, he felt embarrassed that they had been caught out in public.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "How do you know that guy?" He had seen the other boy looking at Naruto in a way that seemed possessive. He hated that boy because of it, and he didn't want him anywhere near his blond again. _Naruto is mine. That asshole better keep his hands to himself._

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. "I met him the other day. He's new in town and he wants to be a Leaf nin. He'll be taking the jounin exams too."

"I don't like how he looked at you, Naruto. I want you to stay away from him."

Naruto glared at the dark haired boy. "Just because I love you, it doesn't mean you can tell me what to do."

Sasuke sighed. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do. But, you are too trusting of others. Remember before when I told you not to trust Kabuto?"

Naruto nodded. _Sasuke was right about Kabuto._

"Well, I'm telling you this, Sudai character, is up to something. The way he was looking at you, wasn't as if he just wants to be friends. Do not trust him. Okay?"

_I didn't see anything wrong with the way he looked at me. But Sasuke was right about Kabuto. He was wrong about Gaara though! But, I don't feel like fighting with Sasuke about this._ "I'll be careful around him, Sasuke."

The raven haired teen smiled and then walked up and hugged the blond. "Thank you, Naruto. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Naruto hugged his love back. "Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to me."

* * *

Sudai watched as the two boys were hugging. _So, Sasuke loves Naruto._ He smiled inside. _Not only will I have the power of the Amarutsu bloodline limit, but I will be able to make my little brother hate me even more. I will take away the person he loves. I will make Naruto hate him._

TBC


	17. Betrayal?

**Pairings**: SasuNaru

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai and Yaoi (boy x boy love). Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Seventeen** - **Betrayal?**

Naruto and Sasuke spent the next few weeks, before the Jounin Exams, training together when they had the chance. They both had agreed to take it slow in their new relationship. They limited themselves to just kissing and cuddling, and learning everything they could about each other. Naruto also took time between missions, to train with Lee and to teach him more ninjutsu and genjutsu. The friendship between the bowl-cut haired boy and the blond grew.

Naruto would find himself running into Sudai occasionally, but he remembered Sasuke's warning and didn't allow himself to be alone with the new Leaf nin, too often. He didn't see anything suspicious with the boy's behavior, but he didn't want to hurt Sasuke's feelings by letting Sudai get too close to him.

On Itachi's part, he was getting very frustrated that he hadn't been able to gain the trust of the blond. Time was running out for him. He had told the Akatsuki leader that he would only be gone for a month and that time was just about up. _I will have to ask for an extension. Naruto is not being as open with me as I had thought he would. It must be Sasuke's influence. I can see how suspicious my little brother is of me, every time we happen to see each other. I think I have to use my backup plan instead. If I can get Naruto unconscious, then I can use that special memory drug I have, to erase his memories and get him to be totally dependent on me. Then he will work for me and do everything I tell him to do. The drug should work on him, the leader had guaranteed it himself. I'll just have to knock the boy out, sometime during the Jounin Exams. There is one exam where all the participants are alone in the Forest of Death, like it is done in the Chuunin Exams. That is when I can make my move. Naruto shouldn't be expecting a surprise attack from me, if I approach him as a friend and offer to work with his team. That boy Rock Lee, shouldn't be a problem for my partner. Once I have Naruto, I will have to let the leader take the demon out of him. That's the price I have to pay. But it is highly probable that Naruto will survive that, because of his bloodline limit. Then I get to have the boy for myself. I will let my little brother know all about it, after it's done. It will be too late for him to do anything, and it will make him hate me even more._

* * *

The week before the Jounin Exams began, Gaara arrived in Konoha to observe the exams in his capacity as Kazekage. Naruto found out he was in town and went to visit him in his hotel room, on the first evening of the day he arrived. Both boys hugged when they saw each other, then greeted each other with mutual kisses on the cheek. 

Naruto laughed as he stepped back from his friend. "That brings back memories." Then he smiled at the red head. "I missed you, Gaara."

The Kazekage smiled back. "I missed you too, Naruto." He took the blond's arm then lead him over to two very elegant looking chairs. He sat down in one and Naruto sat down in the other. "You have grown tall, Naruto. You look very healthy too."

The blond smiled and looked over his red haired friend. "So have you. You are a couple inches taller than me still. Being able to sleep for these past few years has given you a healthy glow on your face. How have things been between you and your brother and sister?"

"We are like family now. I love Temari and Kankuro and they have told me they love me. I have you to thank for that, Naruto."

"I'm happy for you, Gaara. You deserve to have a family that cares about you. I hope you still consider me as family too." _Gaara does look happy now. It's such a change from how he looked when I first met him._

"Yes, I have realized over the past years that you are like a little brother to me. I want you to be happy too." _Naruto does look happy though. Even more than when we were younger._

"I am happy, Gaara. I think of you as my brother too, and I think I should tell you what is making me so happy. I've fallen in love."

Gaara looked with surprise at the blond. He was happy for his friend, but he also felt a little envious of him. _I would like to know what it feels like to fall in love._ "When did this happen and with who?"

"Well, it's been happening since I came back here." _He didn't like Sasuke before, I hope he can accept that I love him._ "It's Sasuke. He says he loves me too."

_The Uchiha? But how can that be? They didn't act like they liked each other that much before. Well, Naruto did seem to care about what happened to the Uchiha, but I would have never guessed they would become this close._ "I see. I must say this is a surprise to me, Naruto. I didn't think you two were that close."

"I know you didn't care for him before." _Boy, is that an understatement!_ "But, he's changed. So have I. I think the bond between us was always there, but neither of us could see it. He still wants to kill his brother, but he's no longer letting it consume him and take over his whole life. He doesn't want to be like his brother. He wants his own life."

Gaara nodded. He could understand that. He had changed himself too. His life now had meaning. _I am glad that Naruto and I became friends. He helped me to change my life. It looks like he helped Uchiha Sasuke too._ "I'm glad you found someone, Naruto. Despite how I felt about the Uchiha before, I will try to be open-minded about him now. I hope that the two of you are happy together."

Naruto smiled widely at his red haired friend. "Thank you, Gaara. I want you to find someone to make you as happy too."

_I am happy now, but I do want what Naruto has. That one person that I can be with for the rest of my life. Someone to love that loves me back._

* * *

After Naruto's visit with Gaara, the rest of the week went by fast for him. Soon he had got through the first exam of the Jounin Exams and the second exam had started. Naruto and Lee were now in the Forest of Death. They had spent their first day fighting three other teams and had defeated them, stolen their scrolls, then left them tied up. In this second exam, their objective was to find the team that had a special scroll on them and steal it, and then return it to the tower in the middle of the forest. Only one team had this special scroll and none of the teams knew which one had it, since all the teams had been given a scroll. 

The only way to make sure your team had it, was to defeat all the other teams and steal all the scrolls. Any team that showed up at the tower without the special scroll would be automatically kicked out of the Jounin Exams. Only one team could win and the teams that failed, yet didn't report into the tower, would still be in the Exams, if they didn't get killed or seriously injured. This exam was a test of techniques and of strategy. It would last for a week or if one team wins. There were twelve teams participating in this exam.

The boys were sitting together at the base of a huge oak tree. They had set up traps around them earlier, and had managed to eat some roots, berries and nuts that they found. They didn't want to start a fire and cook a more substantial meal, because neither one felt like fighting again so soon. A fire and the smell of cooking food could draw unwanted attention. The two boys needed a break.

Lee looked over at his teammate and smiled. "I think we did pretty good for our first day."

Naruto smiled back. "Yes, we did. We still have eight more teams to defeat though."

"We have the power of youth on our side, Naruto-kun. I know we will win!" He looked at the blond with a confident smile and gave a thumbs up sign.

Naruto's smile got wider. He gave a thumbs up sign back. "I believe it too, Lee!"

They both heard a sound and looked around.

Naruto enhanced his sight and looked to see what it was. _Did someone get past our traps?_ _Why didn't I notice a chakra signature?_ Then he saw someone familiar. _It's Sudai!_ Naruto felt suspicious. There seemed to be some kind of a strange aura around the other boy. _I think I will need to look more closely at him later to figure out what it is._ He deactivated his enhanced sight and watched as the brown haired boy walked into their camp.

Lee remembered this boy too, because Naruto had introduced them to each other, before the exams started. He kept himself on alert for a possible attack.

Sudai held up his hands to show he wasn't a threat to them. "Hello, Naruto-kun and Lee-kun. I'm not here to fight you. I just came to talk."

Naruto looked at Lee and they both silently agreed to listen to the other boy. They nodded their heads at each other. Naruto then looked at Sudai. "Hello, Sudai. If you really are here just to talk, we'll listen."

The boy walked up to the other two, then sat down in front of them. "I came to propose a temporary truce between your team and mine. The four of us can work together to take the scrolls from all the other teams and then when it's just our two teams left, we will fight each other for all the scrolls."

Naruto and Lee looked at each other. Lee nodded at his teammate. "I will support your decision on this. Whatever you think is best, Naruto-kun."

The blond smiled at the trust his friend placed in him. He looked at Sudai. _Well, it would save us time and cut the work in half. I'm not sure how powerful Sudai and his partner are, but I am pretty confident that Lee and I could defeat them. We would be able to see how they fight, while we are all working together. Also, this will give me a chance to try to see what that strange aura is, that is around Sudai. I could study him when he's not paying attention._ "That sounds like a good idea, Sudai. It would benefit both our teams and then we can see which of our teams is the strongest at the end."

Sudai smiled at the blond. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I will go tell my partner you agreed." He got up from the ground and then turned and leaped up into the trees.

Naruto looked at Lee and whispered. "Don't trust either of them. We need to watch them carefully, but without letting them know we are suspicious. There is something wrong with Sudai and I plan on figuring out what it is."

Lee whispered back. "Alright, I will pay attention to them too. They won't catch us unaware." He then patted Naruto on the back and smiled. "I will watch your back, my friend. You can count on me."

Naruto smiled back. "I know I can. I trust you with my life, Lee."

"I trust you with mine, too."

When Sudai and his partner, Yakunu Orei, came into the camp, they settled down across from the other two ninjas. Both teams exchanged small talk and tried to act friendly towards the other team. No one slept that night.

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke was at the training grounds, working on his taijutsu training. But he was too worried about what was happening in the Forest of Death, to concentrate. _If Sudai wasn't participating in the the exams, I wouldn't be so worried._ Sasuke didn't trust that boy and he believed Sudai had some hidden agenda. _But what is it? Am I just jealous or am I right to be suspicious of him? I know I wasn't imagining the way he looked at my Naruto. I am sure he looked at him like he was his property, or soon would be. I trust that Naruto loves me and wouldn't be interested in that boy as anything other than a friend. But I don't believe friendship is what that asshole wants from Naruto. I wish I could be there with Naruto to protect him._

* * *

Naruto watched Sudai fighting with a powerful chuunin from another team, he finally figured out what was wrong with the brown haired ninja. He had his sight enhanced with more chakra this time, and kept his focus on the boy as he watched the fight. He saw when there was a flicker where the boy's true appearance showed. Sudai had used a large quantity of his own chakra in a defensive jutsu against his opponent. This caused a small, temporary drain on the genjutsu he had been maintaining constantly, enough for Naruto to be able to catch it with his enhanced sight. 

_It was just for a moment, but I saw him! It's that asshole, Itachi! Damn him! He almost had me. I should have thought of the possibility that he would try something like this in order to capture me. But I had believed that I could see through any genjutsu. That is what my father told me. I wonder why I couldn't see through this one? Well, I'll worry about that later. I can't let Itachi know, that I know who he is. I need to take him by surprise._ Naruto didn't have time to tell Lee what he knew or to warn him. _I have to attack now, while he's still fighting that other ninja._

Naruto knew he would have to be very fast. He drew on the fox's chakra as quickly as he could and then forced it out of himself, in a powerful and large ball-shape, towards Itachi. The oldest Uchiha had his back to Naruto, so he didn't see it coming. But he did feel something powerful coming fast towards his back. He tried to jump away from it, but Naruto directed it with a string of his own chakra, that he had attached to the ball.

When Itachi leaped to the right, the demon chakra-filled ball turned the same way and slammed right into it's target. The force of the blow, knocked Itachi into a tree that was several feet in front of him. The Akatsuki member's bones could be heard cracking. The left side of his head had been slammed hard into the tree, instead of the front of his face, because Itachi had been on the verge of turning his head to see behind him, right before the blast had hit him. Also, the rest of his body had hit the tree, causing his arms, legs and most of his ribs to break. The cheek bone and jaw bone on the left side of his face were crushed, as well as his skull being cracked.

Orei was in shock at the attack, and that the powerful Itachi had been defeated. Lee, coming out of his own surprise more quickly, attacked Orei with a hard kick to his chin, knocking him up into the air, then Lee did his shadow dance, followed by the second lotus. Orei was almost in as bad a shape as his partner, after Lee was finished with him.

Naruto walked over to Itachi and bound him with chakra rope, that he filled with the demon fox's chakra. Despite Itachi's severe injuries, the man was still breathing. The blond looked at Lee. "This man is Uchiha Itachi, Lee. He murdered the whole Uchiha clan. We have to turn him in. We won't be able to finish this exam. Getting Itachi to the Hokage is far more important."

Lee nodded at his teammate. "Yes, you are right. I will race to the tower quickly and get help. You will be okay staying with them alone, won't you?"

Naruto walked over to Orei and bound him the same way that he had done to Itachi. "Yes, just hurry as fast as you can. I don't think they are in any condition to cause trouble right now, but I don't want to take any chances."

Lee nodded, then took off the weights he had strapped to his legs. He leaped up into the trees and headed to the tower, moving at his fastest speed.

_I know Sasuke wanted to fight and kill his brother, but this is better. Itachi should go on trial for his crimes._ Naruto hoped his love wouldn't be upset about this. _Sasuke has changed from how he used to be. He does want to exact revenge for his clan on his own still, but I'm sure he will see that it's better that his brother isn't running around loose anymore._

* * *

Naruto and Lee sat in chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Gaara was seated in another chair to the left of Lee, close to the wall. Sasuke was seated to Naruto's right. His face was impassive and Naruto couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling. Sasuke hadn't said anything after he had heard what had happened. Tsunade sat behind her desk and would sometimes look over to the young Uchiha, wondering if he was going to give her any trouble. 

"Uchiha Itachi is locked up and being watched by the Anbu. A special bracelet was put on him to keep his chakra drained to a level that would keep him alive, but unable to perform any jutsus. He is also chained up so that he can't get out of the room on his own. His partner is in a similar situation. We haven't been able to get Yakunu Orei to reveal who he works for, or what village he comes from. Itachi has been healed of the worst of his injuries. But it will still be many weeks before he will be able to walk on his own. We don't want him in perfect health right away." Tsunade paused to look at the youngest Uchiha again. "He will be standing trial for his crimes against his clan and this village, Sasuke. I know you want to kill him yourself, but the council members and the clan leaders want a trial first. If you wish, you can still be his executioner."

Sasuke looked up and glared at the Hokage. "He would be weak and helpless. That would not bring me any satisfaction."

Naruto looked at the raven haired boy with a frown. _I know he wants his revenge, but he should be happy that Itachi will pay for what he's done. No matter how it happens._

"Uchiha Sasuke, is your own satisfaction more important to you, than having your brother punished for his crimes?" Gaara asked this. _He is still a selfish boy. He doesn't deserve Naruto._

Sasuke looked over at the Kazekage and glared at him. "It is my duty as my clan's avenger, to kill him. I was supposed to do it alone, in battle."

Naruto sighed and looked at his love sadly. "That is what your brother wanted you to do. I don't believe your parents wished for that. I don't believe they would want your brother's blood staining your hands. It's bad enough that Itachi has his parent's blood staining his hands. You don't need to be like him."

Sasuke looked down at his lap. _I know I don't want to be like Itachi. I swore to myself I wouldn't let him control me and make me just like him. But it feels so wrong, for Itachi to go down like this. He was always so powerful and beyond me in strength. All my life, I've had to struggle to catch up to him. Maybe I am being selfish. I'm angry because Naruto was the one to take him down. I need to be alone now or I could say something that I will regret._ Sasuke stood up from the chair and looked at the Hokage. "May I leave now?"

Tsunade nodded at the boy. "Yes, and if you decide you want to see your brother, then you will need to come here and get permission from me first, before the Anbu will allow you to see him."

Sasuke nodded, then turned away. He left the room without looking back.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with concern. She could see that the actions and words of Sasuke had hurt the blond boy. "Naruto, are you alright?"

Naruto forced himself to smile and looked up at the woman. "Yes, I'll be fine. Is it alright if I leave too?"

Tsunade smiled at the young man. "Yes, you can leave. You and Lee have already given me a report on everything that happened. Just go home and rest now, both of you." She smiled at Lee too.

Before Naruto and Lee left the room, Gaara called out to his friend. The blond turned to look at the Kazekage.

"If you need me for anything, you know where I'm staying at."

Naruto smiled at his friend. "I do, Gaara and thank you." Then he turned back to the door and both he and Lee left the office.

The Hokage looked at the Kazekage and smiled. "You are a good friend to Naruto. I'm glad he has you."

"He is a good friend to me, too. Well, I think I will go now, unless you need me for anything else?"

"Not at the moment. I have to go to another meeting with the council in an hour. I will send word to you, if I should need you."

The Kazekage stood up and then bowed his head to the woman. He turned away and then left her alone in the office.

_Kakashi told me the other day that he believed Naruto and Sasuke were in love. I wasn't sure if I believed him. But I can see that Naruto does love the Uchiha boy. He may end up broken-hearted though, unless Sasuke can get over this obsession he has about killing his brother on his own. He seems to be angry at Naruto for capturing Itachi. How can he not realize that Naruto had to do that to save his own life? How can Sasuke be so blind and selfish?_ Tsunade wasn't sure if she wanted Sasuke and Naruto to be together. She loved Naruto like a brother and she only wanted someone deserving to have his heart.

TBC

Next chapter, Sasuke meets with Itachi.


	18. The truth comes out

**Pairings**: SasuNaru

**Warnings**: Shounen-ai and Yaoi (boy x boy love). Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Eighteen** - **The truth comes out**

Not long after Sasuke had left the Hokage Tower, he had decided to go back and get permission to see his brother. Now he stood staring down at his brother who was lying, chained, on a cot in a cell. Even though Itachi had his eyes closed, Sasuke knew he was awake and aware that his little brother had come to visit him. _This is the first time I have ever seen him helpless. I hate him, but I also have a lot of questions I need answers to._

"I know you are awake, Itachi."

Itachi opened his eyes and stared up into Sasuke's eyes. He didn't say anything, he just stared.

"Why? I know what you told me back then, but that was not a real answer that you gave me. Why did you kill our parents?"

"Will the truth make any difference, now? I will be executed soon. I have no regrets."

Sasuke shouted at him. "How can you say that? What you did was unforgivable! But I need to know why! Was it really just to measure your container?"

"Foolish, little brother. You were always so blind to everything that happened back then. You saw me as your rival. The one you hated and had to beat. Didn't you?"

Sasuke remembered instead, how he had idolized his brother. _Yes, I wanted to be like him. I did resent that Father showed him more attention, but what I most wished for, back then, was for my brother to acknowledge me and to spend more time with me._ _I loved our father and wanted his acknowledgment and attention too, but I wanted it from my brother even more._ "I didn't hate you back then." Sasuke sighed heavily and looked away. "I wanted you to spend more time with me and train me. I wanted to be like you. But then you killed everyone." Sasuke looked back at his brother again, with anger in his eyes. "Why did you have to do that? Why couldn't you have just been my brother? Was I such a burden to you? Did you hate me?"

Itachi was the one to look away this time. _What do I say? The truth or just let him keep hating me?_

Sasuke glared at his brother and shouted. "Answer me, dammit! Tell me the truth!"

Itachi looked back and fixed his eyes on his brother's. "I'm not sure you can handle the truth. But if you insist...you never saw me kill them."

"You showed me with your Mangekyou Sharingan!"

"You should know, that I can control what you see with it. I showed you what I wanted you to see."

Sasuke was shocked. _What is he saying?_ "You're lying to me!"

Itachi smiled sadly. "No, I have no reason to anymore. You saw what I wanted you to see and what you saw was a lie."

_No! It can't be true! Is he now saying he didn't murder our parents? Our clan?_ Sasuke looked with uncertainty at his older brother. "Are you saying..."

Itachi interrupted. "That's right. I didn't murder our clan. I came home from a mission right after it happened, and the killers were already gone. I do know who did it though. I joined the Akatsuki to get revenge on the real murderers."

Sasuke was confused and angry. "If that is true then why didn't you tell me? Why did you make me believe it was you?"

"I had seen you running home, when I first came back, but I had also noticed all the bodies in the streets. So I went to look for our parents. That noise you heard that brought you to that room...I made that because I had just found our parents dead and had hit the wall in my anger and grief. When I felt your presence outside the room, I realized I had to save you...by making you believe I had killed everyone. I would never kill you, little brother, but the ones who murdered our clan would, if you had known the truth and had gone after them."

"Who? Tell me who did it!"

"No, you are not strong enough to beat them. You would die for nothing. You are the last of our clan and as long as you don't know who they are and they don't feel you are a threat to them, you will live on. You will be the one to revive our clan."

"Avenging our clan is more important! If you can't do it, then it's up to me!" _I need to tell the Hokage about this. If Itachi is telling me the truth, then he can't be executed. I need him._

"No, you will not be the one to get revenge."

_Wait. He still killed Shisui-san, didn't he?_ "If what you have said is true, then why did you kill your closest friend? You did that to get the Mangekyou Sharingan!"

"I didn't kill him to get that. He was working for our clan's killers. He was the one that betrayed the clan, for power. I had overheard him talking to one of them about kidnapping me. I went to confront him about it, then we ended up fighting. I held him under the water too long and he died. I faked the suicide note, because I didn't want his employers to know he had been killed by me. Before he died, I was able to get him to tell me who he was working for, but he didn't tell me what they were planning to do. I thought that they were only after me, to get the secrets of the Sharingan. I should have told Father about it, but I was very proud and arrogant and I believed I was strong enough to protect myself. He never wanted to see any weakness from me, anyway. Everyone always expected me to be perfect, so I wasn't going to ask for help. When I attacked those policemen, I was so angry with them for thinking I was a murderer, and hating me because of how strong I was. They judged me without knowing me and talked about Shisui as if he was better than me, so I attacked them. Then Father came home and talked like he was disappointed in me. I ended up saying things, out of pride, arrogance and anger, that made me look guilty. You were a witness to all of it. Remembering that day, must have made it easier for you to believe that I had killed our entire clan." _I can't tell him that it was the Akatsuki that did it. At least, Orochimaru is dead. He was with them then. My little brother would never be able to kill all of them. They are too powerful for him. Even I am not strong enough to do it, yet._

_Should I believe Itachi's story? It makes more sense than believing my brother was capable of doing it. Despite what he had shown me with his Mangekyou Sharingan, I still had a hard time understanding what could make him kill everyone. He was anti-social and had problems with our father, but it wasn't enough to make him a mass murderer. I want to believe him._ "You came after Naruto. Was that just for your job or did you really want to capture him for power?"

_Ah. He won't like my answer, I'm sure._ "I had to have you keep hating me, so that was part of it. As long as you hated me and was after me for revenge, then the real murderers would continue to believe that you didn't know about them. Also, I wanted his power. If I had him devoted to me and working for me, I would have used him to destroy our clan's murderers. With him, I knew I had a chance at revenge. He would have lost his demon after I took him back to the Akatsuki headquarters, but from the research that was done on his bloodline limit, I figured he could survive that and I would then ask for him to be handed over to me as a reward for capturing him."

Sasuke glared at his brother. "You would have used Naruto as a tool? How would you have got him to cooperate with you?"

"My first plan had been to befriend him and then turn him against all his other friends. I thought that he would then turn to me as his only friend and I could talk him into leaving his village and helping me. But time was running out, and he wasn't cooperating with my plan. I had a backup plan though. I was going to give him a drug that would erase all of his memories. Then I would take him to the Akatsuki headquarters and get him to become dependent on me. But he must have finally been able to see through my genjutsu."

"You were pretending to be Amano Sudai. Where did you discover a genjutsu that Naruto had trouble seeing through?"

"It was from a forbidden scroll I bought in the Hidden Rock village. I wasn't sure that it would work on Naruto, but he never saw through it until I was fighting someone from another team in the exam. I think that is when he noticed."

"He told the Hokage that he saw something suspicious about you before then. But he finally was able to figure it out, during that fight you were involved in. Now, tell me who murdered our clan."

"If you had been able to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan and come to me as I asked, then together we could have killed them. I would not have told you the truth until you were strong enough to be able to help me. You are still too weak now. But since I have been captured and will soon be executed, there was no reason for me to keep the truth from you any longer. But I will not tell you who they are."

"They will get away with it if you don't tell me!" _Unless I can get the Hokage to let him go. But I still want to be there with him when we avenge our clan._

"Better that, than all the Uchihas be dead. You have to live. You have to stop trying to get revenge."

_Damn him!_ _How can he think I would ever give up on avenging our clan? _Sasuke activated his Sharingan, then his Mangekyou Sharingan in front of his brother.

Itachi stared in shock at his little brother. "How?"

"Naruto used his bloodline limit to get it to activate. I didn't have to kill him or anyone else." Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan. "When I see you again, I hope you will be ready to tell me who murdered our clan. I'll be back later." Sasuke turned and knocked on the door. When the door was opened for him, he looked back at his brother and saw him still staring at him. Sasuke turned his face back to the front again, then walked out of the cell.

* * *

While Sasuke was visiting his brother, Naruto was in his house sitting on his couch with Gaara. _Does Sasuke still love me? I guess I should have realized his revenge was more important to him, than me. I don't think Sasuke will understand why I had to do what I did._ Naruto felt depressed. He loved Sasuke, but was afraid that it was over between them now. 

Gaara felt useless. He didn't know how to comfort his friend. _I wish I could have been wrong about Uchiha Sasuke, for Naruto's sake._ Gaara put his arm around the blond's shoulders. "You want to go get some ramen?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not really hungry right now." He looked at the red head. "I'm not very good company right now either. I'm sorry, Gaara."

_Damn that Uchiha for breaking his heart!_ "Maybe he justs needs some time to accept what has happened. Just keep yourself busy, Naruto and then see how he feels later." _I can't believe I'm actually encouraging him to give Uchiha Sasuke a chance! But I know Naruto loves him and his happiness is more important than my own feelings about it._

"You're probably right, Gaara. I'll just give it some time and try to find something to take my mind off this. But right now, I think I just want to rest. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I understand. If you need to talk with me though, you know where to find me." Gaara got up from the couch and walked to the door.

Naruto got up too, and followed him. "Yes, I do and thank you, Gaara."

Gaara turned and smiled at the blond. "That is what friends are for, right? To help each other."

Naruto remembered when he had said those same words himself. _I'm Sasuke's friend. Even if he doesn't love me anymore, I will still try to help him._ "Right, Gaara." He smiled at the red head and after Gaara left, Naruto closed the door and then went upstairs to his bedroom. _I'll go see Sasuke later, after he's had some time to think over everything. I feel exhausted right now anyway._ Naruto undressed down to his boxers and then got into bed. _I'll just rest for awhile. Maybe things will be better later._

* * *

"You damn Uchihas with your arrogance and thirst for revenge!" Tsunade was very angry after hearing Itachi's story from Sasuke. "He should have went to the Third and told him everything! He should have told his father about Uchiha Shisui too!" 

"I agree, Hokage-sama about what he should have done, but he didn't and we can't go back and change that. What matters now is that we force him to tell us who the murderers are so I can go after them. I could use his help though."

"You're just as bad as him! First you spend over eight years of your life hating your brother and wanting to kill him, now you want to go after a group of powerful killers. If Itachi couldn't kill them himself, you won't stand a chance either, brat."

Sasuke glared at her. "That's why I could use his help! With him, we should be able to do it."

Tsunade glared back. "I'm not so sure I want him released. Even if he didn't kill the clan, he was trying to hurt Naruto. I won't forgive him for that."

"I'm angry about that too. But I can understand why he did it. He was desperate to avenge our clan. That is why we should both do it, together."

Tsunade sighed. _I will have to tell the council and the clan leaders about all of this. But, Itachi could be lying. The Yamanaka clan could help to find out though. Someone from that clan could find out if he's telling the truth or not, then if it's true, get the information out of him on who did do it. If Itachi wants revenge so badly, he would agree to let us do it, in order to gain his freedom._ "Sasuke, I will see what I can do about finding out the truth and if Itachi isn't lying, then he will be able to go with you. But it won't be just the two of you alone. You will have others in your team, because Itachi will not be allowed out of this village without strict supervision. He committed crimes while working with the Akatsuki and he's going to have to pay for that."

"Alright, I agree." _I have to, it's the only way to get this done._ "I want Naruto to be part of the team. I also think Neji and Shikamaru have skills that will be needed."

"Kakashi and Gai will go also. You should have a medic-nin along, too."

"Sakura."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. I believe I can spare all of them. This mission is long overdue. Don't tell your brother yet. I will be meeting with him later, in order to get the information we need from him, and to tell him his punishment. If it turns out that we can trust him, I will make sure he's healed of his injuries completely, as soon as possible. Wait until tomorrow to visit him."

Sasuke nodded. _I need to see Naruto anyway._ "Thank you, Hokage-sama." Sasuke bowed his head.

"You're welcome, brat, and thank you for telling me about this, Sasuke." She smiled at him, then watched as he left her office. _I hope you are going to see Naruto to kiss and make up._

* * *

Naruto woke up from his nap, to the sound of loud knocking at his front door. He got out of bed and pulled on his pants and shirt, then walked downstairs and over to the front door. When he opened it, he saw Sasuke standing there. 

"Can I come in, Naruto?" Sasuke felt a little nervous. He wasn't sure if Naruto was angry or hurt about how he had acted earlier.

Naruto was surprised to see Sasuke at his door. _He doesn't seem angry._ Naruto stepped back and opened the door wider. "Sure, come in." When Sasuke entered, he closed the door and turned around.

The raven haired boy walked into the living room, then over to the couch and sat down. He looked up at the blond with a serious expression on his face. "Can you come sit down by me? I have something I have to tell you."

_He's probably going to tell me that he doesn't love me anymore._ Naruto walked over to the couch and sat down. He forced himself to look at the other boy.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted before. You were right to do what you did."

Naruto couldn't hide his surprise at hearing an apology from Sasuke. He didn't know what to say though. "Alright."

"Because of what you did, I got my brother back. He finally told me the truth about what happened to our parents and clan. He had lied about being the one that killed them."

Naruto gasped in shock. "He didn't kill them?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, he didn't but he knows who did. And the Hokage said that after she gets the information from him about who did it, then we will go on a mission to capture them or kill them, if capture isn't possible." _Personally, I want to kill them._

"B-But Sasuke! Itachi was so mean to you and told you to hate him!"

"Yes, he did that for a reason though. He wanted me to think he was the killer, because he didn't want me to go after the real killers. Instead, he went after them himself. He wanted to capture you to use your powers in order to help him kill our clan's murderers. At first, I think he wanted to get the fox demon to use for that, but then he found out about your bloodline limit."

_Well, I guess I can understand a little more about him now. He's not evil, he just wants revenge, like Sasuke does._ _Now that I think about it, that time when he attacked me and Sasuke, he didn't hurt his brother. He even left the battle without fighting anymore. He just grabbed that shark-like man and left. Whenever I had to fight Itachi, when he was alone, he never tried to seriously injure me. Why didn't I realize this before? But still, he was very mean to Sasuke, even if he didn't try to kill him._ "He was still very cruel to you, Sasuke, by making you believe he killed your family."

_Naruto cares more about how Itachi treated me, then how Itachi treated him. This is one of the reasons why I love my dobe._ Sasuke moved his hand over to grab one of the blond's, so he could hold it. "I love you, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and squeezed the other boy's hand. "I love you too, Sasuke. So who's going on the mission?"

Sasuke wasn't in the mood to talk about the mission, but he decided to get all the news over with now, so that he could then do what he really wanted to do. "You, me, Itachi, Neji, Shikamaru, Sakura, Kakashi and Gai. I think that should be the right type of skills and numbers we would need."

Naruto's smile got wider, as he realized he was being included in helping Sasuke avenge his clan. "I agree."

Sasuke couldn't wait anymore. He leaned over and kissed the blond on the lips.

Naruto kissed back and moved himself a little closer to his love.

Sasuke let go of the other boy's hand, then wrapped both of his arms around Naruto and pulled him even closer. _I would love to claim my dobe right now, but I still want to wait until after I've avenged my clan. Then I can give myself totally to him with nothing else to distract me.__Itachi can be the one to revive our clan by having children. I'm going to be selfish and have the person I love_. Sasuke thrust his tongue inside of Naruto's mouth and felt very aroused when he heard and felt the blond's moan of pleasure.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and started playing with his silky raven locks. _I love kissing Sasuke. I never want to stop._

Sasuke's hands started roaming Naruto's body and his kisses became more passionate. But after a couple more minutes, he had to force himself to stop. He put his hands on the blond's shoulders to push him back a little, as he pulled away from the kiss. He rested his forehead on Naruto's and stared into the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. "I'm hungry, Naruto." Sasuke grinned inside as he thought of the fact that he wasn't just hungry for food. "Let's go get something to eat."

Naruto had still been in a daze from their kissing, but hearing about food, got his attention. He grinned. "Ramen?"

Sasuke groaned. "I'd rather go to the barbecue place."

Naruto frowned. _Well, I guess I could give in this time. He did apologize and he's letting me go on the mission with him. Plus, he's a really good kisser!_ Naruto smiled. "Alright."

_He's not going to argue about it? Well, I'm not going to ask him why, because that could make him change his mind._ Sasuke got up from the couch. "Good. Let's go."

Naruto got up too. He grabbed Sasuke's hand before he could walk away, then held it and just smiled at the other boy.

Sasuke smiled back, then lead Naruto to the front door.

TBC


	19. The Mission

**Pairings**: SasuNaru

**Warnings**: Shounen-ai and Yaoi (boy x boy love). Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter Nineteen** – **The Mission**

The team made camp a few miles away from the location of the Akatsuki headquarters. They had one extra member that they originally hadn't been planning on...Gaara had heard about the mission from Naruto and had insisted on going with them. No one had objected, not even Sasuke, since they all knew how powerful the Kazekage was.

When Sasuke had been told by Tsunade that the murderers of his clan were the same group that his brother had been working for, he had been pissed and had gone to confront Itachi. Itachi had explained to him that he worked for the murderers in order to stay close to them and to find out how strong they were and what weaknesses they may have. He told Sasuke that he had had a hard time controlling himself over the past years and it was only because of the leader that he kept himself from trying to kill all of them. Itachi called him the leader because no one was ever told what his real name was and he had insisted that all the other members call him Leader. The older man was just too powerful for Itachi to kill. He was somehow able to shield himself from the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Itachi knew this because the leader had not only told him, but had ordered Itachi to try to use it on him. The man had wanted to show Itachi that he wouldn't be able to betray him and get away with it. Over the years, his older brother had learned as many jutsus as he could and kept as close an eye on the leader as possible, looking for any weakness he could find. _Their leader is going to be tough to beat. Naruto and Gaara will be the ones that fight him. If I could kill that man myself, I would. But it's enough to know that I will be a part of this and that all of my clan's killers will pay. Itachi said that not all of the current members of Akatsuki were in the group back then, but if they decide to fight against us, then they will die too._

Naruto walked over to where Sasuke was standing. "Sasuke? Are you alright?"

The raven haired teen looked at the concerned face of the blond. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about tomorrow."

"Everyone is eating now, you need to eat something too."

Sasuke smiled at his love. "Alright." He followed Naruto back to where the others were sitting around the camp fire. He took the plate of food that Gai handed to him, nodding his thanks, then sat down next to his blond.

Kakashi looked around at the group and then settled his eyes on Itachi. "Everyone knows what they will be doing, right?"

Everyone answered in the affirmative. No one really felt like talking because they were all thinking of the tough battle ahead of them tomorrow. After they had all ate, the first shift of the night watch went to the places where they would be stationed. Since there were nine people, there would be three people on each watch. The ones on the first watch were Gai, Shikamaru and Sasuke, the second watch would be done by Neji, Sakura and Gaara, and the final watch by Kakashi, Naruto and Itachi.

Nothing happened during the first watch. After the second watch began, Neji who had been wanting to talk to Gaara, decided that he would do that during their watch. Gaara had his third eye out to help with watching the area and Neji would check around with his Byakugan every once in a while.

The Hyuuga genius walked over to the tree that Gaara was standing by and looked at him. "You are very good friends with Naruto, aren't you?"

The red head was curious about why the brunette had approached him. "Yes, we are close friends."

"You came on this mission for him, didn't you?"

"Yes, I wanted to be here to help him. The Akatsuki are very powerful." Gaara had been impressed with the Hyuuga boy's talents when he had watched him during the Chuunin Exams. Having the boy standing so close to him, was causing him to feel something strange inside. He didn't understand what it was that was making him feel that way and was trying to figure it out in his head.

Neji had been fascinated with the control that Gaara had over sand ever since he first saw him fight. He had also thought the boy seemed lonely when he first had seen him. He wanted to know more about the red haired Sand nin. "I care about Naruto too. He helped me to see things about myself that I needed to change. Because of him I was able to have a better and closer relationship with my cousin Hinata and also my uncle. I wish to repay Naruto by helping him."

Gaara smiled. "So do I."

"If I may ask, how did he help you?"

"He was my first friend and he helped me to be able to sleep. I am a jinchuuriki like Naruto is. But unlike Naruto, the seal that had been put on my demon, was not as effective. Shukaku would try to possess me if I fell asleep. Naruto helped me by putting up a new barrier around my demon so that it couldn't get out, but I could still access it's chakra."

Neji hadn't known that the Kazekage was a container for a demon. But now he was able to understand the friendship between Naruto and Gaara better. They shared similar pasts, while growing up. "I would like to be your friend too, Gaara."

Gaara looked at the brunette in surprise. "I would like that. It would be nice to have another friend." He smiled at Neji.

Neji smiled back.

* * *

In the morning, everyone packed up all their things, then cleaned up the camp. Kakashi told Itachi to lead the way to the Akatsuki headquarters. The silver haired jounin and Sasuke were the next two in line, followed in order by Sakura, Gaara, Gai, Shikamaru, Naruto and Neji at the back to watch with his Byakugan for anyone that tried to come at them from behind.

It wasn't long before Itachi called them all to a halt. Half a mile in front of them was what looked like a hill made of stone. They had not sensed anyone besides their own group, up until that time. Kakashi gave the order for all of them, except for Itachi, to lower their chakra levels to the point where it couldn't be detected. The first group that would go in with Itachi were Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara. They would henge into shuriken and be carried into the headquarters in Itachi's weapon pouch. Once inside, they would release their henge when given the signal by Itachi. The ones left outside would know to come in, when the entrance to the headquarters was blown up. It was Naruto's job to give that signal by blasting the door, which was a huge boulder, into little bits with his chakra.

Naruto had practiced how much of his chakra to use and where to strike it at, in order to blow up a large boulder, before they had left for the mission. The blond had also had to work with Gaara on how to henge into a shuriken, since the Sand nin had never done that before. Gaara was a fast learner though, so it didn't take too long for him to pick it up.

Once Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara had performed their henge, Itachi put the transformed shuriken in to his pouch. He then lead the other members of his team closer to the cave. He left them hiding in the trees that were several yards away from the cave, while he walked up to the entrance by himself. Itachi performed the special seals required to open the entrance and said the password, then stepped inside. He walked into a very large room that had a table in the center of it, with several chairs around it. Seated at the table was his partner, Kisame, and the blond bomb expert, Deidara. Both had been talking together and stopped when they noticed the Uchiha walking towards them.

The shark-like man grinned at his partner. "I don't see the blond demon container with you. Had some trouble, huh?"

"That fox container is too much trouble, yeah. Kinda glad not to see him, yeah." Deidara had been one of the Akatsuki members that had suffered a lot of damage after a fight with Naruto. It had been over a year since the blond Akatsuki member's battle with the demon container, but he still hadn't forgot how painful it was. Nearly all of the bones in his arms and legs had been crushed.

"Who's here?" Itachi just wanted to get this all over with, so he ignored Kisame's question.

Kisame's face became serious. "Something happen?"

"Everyone's here, somewhere, yeah." Deidara answered Itachi's question.

"Go get them. I have something important to report."

Deidara grumbled, but got up from the table anyway. He left the room to go find the other Akatsuki members.

Itachi activated his Mangekyou Sharingan as soon as Kisame looked him in the eyes. He trapped the shark-like man in a genjutsu and then pulled out a kunai and cut the man's throat, nearly severing his head. Itachi pulled out the shuriken he had in his pouch and laid them out on the floor in front of him. "It's time."

Kakashi, Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto dropped their henge. They went to stand near the walls, where they then performed another henge, this time to look like part of the stone wall. Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara had practiced this type of henge too, before leaving Konoha. The blond had moved close to the entrance before he had performed his henge, in order to be ready for when he had to signal the others.

Itachi dragged Kisame's body outside and then re-entered the headquarters. He wiped up the blood that had been spilled on the table, chair and floor, then he stood by the table to wait for the other Akatsuki members to arrive.

A couple minutes later, two cloaked men entered the room. They moved to stand on the opposite side of the table from Itachi. Neither one spoke to him. More people soon entered the room, some alone and some in pairs, until finally all Akatsuki members, minus one, were in the room.

Deidara looked around and noticed someone was missing. "Where is shark man, yeah?"

All of a sudden, a sand wall blocked the door that the Akatsuki members had entered from, leaving only the front entrance accessible. The boulder blocking the front entrance exploded outward and light from the outside entered the room. The Akatsuki members were taken by surprise, but soon snapped out of it and separated from each other in order to fight whatever enemies had infiltrated their headquarters.

It was Itachi's job to point out who the leader was to Naruto and Gaara, he did that by throwing a kunai at the man. Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi dropped their henge. Both demon containers then teleported over to where the leader was standing. Itachi went after Zetsu, the Venus flytrap man. Sasuke went after Betsui, one of the original Akatsuki members that had been one of his clan's murderers. Both Itachi and Sasuke were determined to attack the ones that had actually killed their clan, first. Gai, Neji, Shikamaru, Kakashi and Sakura went after the other members. Sakura's opponent was Sasori, a puppet master that used poison. Shikamaru was able to capture three of the Akatsuki members using his Shadow Imitation jutsu and Gai and Neji took them out of the fight.

Kakashi's opponent was Deidara. Since Deidara was not one of the killers of the Uchiha clan, and he was a lot younger than the other Akatsuki members, Kakashi decided to give the young man a choice. He told him why the Akatsuki were being attacked and that Deidara was free to leave, but if he stayed he would be captured or killed like all the other members.

Deidara was not a coward, but after hearing the reason for the attack and that Itachi had turned on them, he decided to leave. He could see that some of the other Akatsuki members were already out of the fight and despite how powerful the leader was, he knew that the demon containers were very powerful too. "Maybe I'll see you again, yeah." Deidara smirked at the silver haired jounin, then ran out the entrance.

Kakashi turned around to see what was happening with the others and saw that Sakura needed help. He went to her side and joined her in the fight against Sasori. Sakura had destroyed several of Sasori's puppets already, but had come very close to getting poisoned. She was grateful for the help from her former sensei.

Naruto had taken control of the leader's chakra and was holding him in place so that Gaara could make his own attack. Over the past few years when Naruto had been training with Jiraiya, he had practiced taking control of other people's chakra. He had been able to get to the point where he could hold Jiraiya in place for fifteen minutes, before the sannin was finally able to get away. Jiraiya's chakra levels had been nearly depleted though. So now, Naruto was able to get a good hold on the leader, enabling Gaara to use his desert coffin jutsu on him. Naruto let go of the leader right before he was surrounded by the sand cocoon. But the man managed to put a shield around himself while inside the coffin. Naruto seeing that the leader had survived, quickly reached out with his chakra again to control him. _Damn it! I have to drain all of his chakra. I hope I can do it before he gets away. _Naruto worked quickly to drain the chakra from the Akatsuki leader's body. He decided he needed the fox's help, so he stole some of it's chakra in order to give himself a boost so he could work faster.

Meanwhile, Itachi had killed Zetsu by using the Amaterasu, a technique only a user of the Mangekyou Sharingan can perform. This black fire jutsu can go through any barrier and nearly every shield jutsu. The black fire burned through the fly trap shell, destroying the body within. Itachi could see that Sasuke was still fighting his opponent and seemed to be winning. He looked over at the others and saw that all of them were fighting against Sasori now. It seemed that there were only three Akatsuki members left in the fight, so Itachi went over to where Naruto and Gaara were fighting the leader. He looked at Naruto. "Let me kill him. When I give the word, let go of him and leap far away."

Naruto nodded. He had managed to drain a lot of the leader's chakra from him, but the man was still putting up quite a fight in trying to break away. Gaara hadn't done anything more because he hadn't wanted to hurt Naruto.

Itachi got himself ready to perform the Amaterasu jutsu again. "Now!" As soon as Naruto let go of the leader and leaped away from him, Itachi quickly performed his jutsu and black fire came out of his mouth and shot towards the leader. The man being very low on chakra, tried to dodge the fire coming at him instead of trying to shield himself, but one of his arms got hit with it anyway and the fire soon spread to his whole body. He screamed out in agony and after a few seconds his body was no longer there, because it had been completely burned up until there was nothing left of it.

Naruto was in shock at how powerful Itachi's jutsu was. _I sure am glad he never tried to use that thing on me!_ He looked at the oldest living Uchiha. "Why didn't you ever use that on him before?"

"He was very good with shield jutsus and I wasn't sure if the Amaterasu could get through all of them. I didn't want to take the chance that he would survive and then kill me before I could kill him. I needed to be sure first. Because you drained most of his chakra out of him, I felt he wouldn't be strong enough to be able to shield against the Amaterasu. If he had been able to do it though, I believe you would have been able to finish him off for me." Itachi then looked over at the others and saw they had all finished their fights. Sakura was busy healing Sasuke's wounds and the others were making sure the surviving Akatsuki members were tied up securely. The team had brought several chakra-suppressing bracelets with them and those were now being put on the survivors. Itachi noticed one person was missing. He didn't see a certain blond anywhere. He walked over to Kakashi. "Where's Deidara?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and grinned beneath his mask. "Guess he got away."

Itachi frowned at the silver haired jounin. _He doesn't act like it's a big deal. Did he let him get away and if so, why? Well, Deidara wasn't one of our clan's killers, so it doesn't matter to me._ He turned away from the jounin and walked out of the cave. He looked down at the body of his former partner. He really had had nothing against Kisame. The shark-like man hadn't been one of the killers either. But his sword was powerful and having Kisame in the fight may have caused harm to his team. _Kisame had enjoyed killing anyway, so it's not like I killed an innocent man._ Itachi looked away from the dead man and up at the sky. _I have finally avenged my clan. I'm sorry it took me so long, Father and Mother._

Sasuke came outside and stood next to his brother. _It's finally done. I used to think I would die after I killed Itachi or even while trying to. I can't believe that all these years, I was filled with hate for him and he wasn't even the one I was supposed to be hating. It still feels strange to me_. Sasuke looked over at his brother and saw him looking up at the sky. "Can we be brothers again, aniki?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke. "I would like that, little brother."

They both heard the voices of their teammates and looked at the entrance to the cave. They watched as the others came out. There were only three surviving Akatsuki members and they were being dragged out by Kakashi, Gai and Gaara. The red head was using his sand to drag his burden with.

Kakashi looked at the Kazekage and saw what he was doing. "Would you mind carrying all three with your sand?"

Gaara smirked at the jounin. "No, I don't mind." He then used his sand to latch onto the other two men that the jounins had been holding. He wrapped all three together in a cocoon of sand.

Kakashi smiled at his team. "Mission accomplished. It's time to head home."

Everyone nodded. They were all exhausted, but felt good because no one on their team was seriously injured, and they had defeated a powerful organization. Kakashi took the lead and they all followed him, leaving behind the ruins of the Akatsuki.

TBC

The Akatsuki member called Betsui is just a name I made up because so far only Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, Deidara and Zetsu have been named as members of Akatsuki, while the other four have not been given names yet.


	20. At long last!

**Pairings**: SasuNaru

**Warnings**: Shounen-ai and Yaoi (boy x boy love). Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.

Thoughts are represented by _italics_.

**Chapter 20** – **At long last!**

After the team had returned home to Konoha and had reported in to Tsunade, she sent everyone over to the hospital for a checkup. Afterwards, she sent everyone, except for Kakashi, Itachi and Sasuke, home. Those three she asked to come back to her office.

"Kakashi, I would like Itachi to live in the Uchiha residence with Sasuke, but he is still under probation. I want you to take turns with Anbu on watching him. I may still send you on missions, but when you are not on missions, I want you to be watching him."

The silver haired ninja nodded his head.

Tsunade looked at Sasuke. "You also will be responsible for keeping an eye on your brother. If, after six months, he has behaved, then he will no longer be under watch and can resume life as a ninja again."

Sasuke and Itachi were surprised at the light sentence, but neither one questioned it. Sasuke nodded in reply to the Hokage's order.

All three men in the room were tired after their mission and looked forward to getting a good night's sleep. It was only around nine in the evening, but they had all been in a rush to get back to Konoha and hadn't had much rest.

Tsunade could see they were tired and smiled at them. "Okay, well that is all I needed to tell you for now. Go home and get some rest. Kakashi, you will be spending the night at their home tonight. Tomorrow you can set up a schedule with the Anbu captain on when you wish to perform your guard shift duties. You are all dismissed."

All three men stood up and bowed their heads respectfully to the Hokage, then turned around and left the room together.

Tsunade opened her top drawer and pulled out a bottle of sake and opened it. She took a big drink out of the bottle. _I'm glad that is over with. Now maybe we can have some peace around here. I will need to start training Naruto even harder now, to take over my job. I really need to retire._ She took another long drink, then put the bottle back in the drawer and closed it. It wasn't long before she fell asleep, with her head laying on the mission's report she had yet to fully read.

* * *

The following morning, Gaara was standing near the front door of Naruto's home. He had spent the night at the blond's house, since it would be a while before they would get to see each other again. Before they had gone to Naruto's place, Gaara had got his luggage from the hotel and had checked out. He smiled as the blond came up to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Gaara! I hope you can come back here again, soon." Naruto pulled back from the hug and smiled at his friend.

"I will miss you, too. You will probably be busy training to be the next Hokage and won't have time to come to the Sand village to visit me."

Naruto's smile got bigger as he thought of his dream, to be Hokage, as coming true. "Yes, Tsunade told me last night to come to her office this morning and start training with her again. I can't wait to become the Rokudaime!"

"The Hyuuga clan haven't been bothering you lately, have they?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, Hiashi has left me alone since the last time I refused to marry one of his daughters. Hinata and Kiba have been growing closer, I hope Hiashi will not interfere in their relationship. As for Hanabi, she's just a kid and I'm in love with Sasuke anyway. If Hiashi bugs me again, I'll tell him I'm gay."

Gaara snickered. "Don't know if that will stop him, but it's worth a try."

Naruto laughed, then got a sly look on his face. "You know, Gaara, speaking of the Hyuuga clan, I noticed that you and Neji seemed to be closer now. I saw you two talking together, a few times on our way back." Naruto grinned when he saw the blush spreading on his friend's cheeks. "Something you want to tell me about?"

Gaara glared at the blond. "We were just talking. We are friends."

Naruto smiled sincerely at the red head. "I'm glad you have found a new friend. Neji is a good guy." _I bet they become more than friends later though! I'm sure I saw them staring at each other a few times when they thought the other wasn't looking. They are definitely interested in each other._

Gaara smiled back. "Yes, I think he is too. Well, Naruto, I have to go now." Gaara picked up his bag and put it on the shoulder that his gourd was not on. He turned around, then opened the door.

"You sure you don't want me to walk you to the gate?"

Gaara looked back at the blond. "No, you need to finish getting ready for your appointment with the Hokage. I'll see you again, when I can."

"Okay, well have a safe trip home, Gaara!" Naruto watched as the red head walked away. _I wonder if Neji will show up at the gate to tell him goodbye?_ Naruto smirked, then closed his door. He walked upstairs and headed to his bedroom to get his green jounin vest and put it on, then he put on his weapon pouch. He went back downstairs, then to the front door and put on his black sandals. _I wonder how Sasuke is doing. I wish I had time to go see him this morning, but I slept in too late. Maybe I'll have time at lunch to check up on him._

Naruto left his house, closing and locking the door behind him.

* * *

Tsunade cleared her throat to get the blond boy's attention. He looked up from the paperwork he had been working on, with a questioning look in his eyes. He was currently seated at a table, that had been brought into the Hokage's office for him to use as his own desk. "It's lunch time, Naruto." It was actually only ten-thirty, but she figured Naruto wouldn't notice the time right away and would be in a hurry to get out of work. She went on, before the Hokage-in-training could jump up from his chair. "Don't bother coming back here today. I have an important meeting with my advisors and this is one meeting that you won't be attending. Take the rest of the day off."

Naruto grinned in happiness and leaped up from his chair. He wasn't about to question his good luck. "Great! Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then!"

Tsunade smirked at the boy. "No, you won't. You have tomorrow off too. Consider it a reward for the success of your mission." _Actually, it was Sasuke that came by here early this morning and asked me to give you this time off. But he told me not to tell you._ The blond Hokage laughed inside. _Ah, young romance._

Naruto was puzzled about why he had had to come into work at all in the first place, but shrugged it off. "Okay, well, I'll see you the day after then. Bye Tsunade baa-chan and thanks!"

Before he reached the door, he had to dodge a paperweight that had been thrown at his head. He laughed and quickly opened the door and slammed it shut behind him as he left. He walked out of the Hokage tower and turned in the direction of Ichiraku's. _I'll get some ramen first, then go see Sasuke! _

After Naruto had devoured four bowls of miso ramen, he paid his bill and said goodbye to Ayame. He teleported himself to the Uchiha district, appearing right in front of Sasuke's house. He knocked on the door and waited.

Sasuke answered the door and smiled at his blond. "Hey."

Naruto smiled back. "Hey to you, too! I have the rest of today and all of tomorrow off. Can I come in?"

Sasuke stood back and motioned for Naruto to come in. After the blond had entered and took off his shoes, Sasuke grabbed him by the arms and turned him around. He pulled Naruto up close to him, then lowered his head and kissed him.

Naruto was surprised at first, but then relaxed into the kiss. He opened his mouth when he felt Sasuke's tongue probing between his lips. The blond moaned at the pleasure of feeling his love's tongue exploring all around his mouth. His tongue started playing with Sasuke's. Naruto felt satisfaction and excitement when his actions were able to draw a moan out of the raven haired boy.

Sasuke decided to stop what they were doing, before he lost control of himself. He pulled back from the kiss and pressed his forehead against the blond's, staring into the turquoise eyes he adored. "Let's go into the living room." He stood back and let go of Naruto.

Naruto still hadn't got over the kiss yet, but nodded his head anyway, then followed the other boy into the living room. He let Sasuke pull him down on the couch to sit beside him.

Sasuke raised his hand to the side of Naruto's face and cupped his cheek in his palm. He stared deeply into the blond's eyes. _Naruto is so beautiful. I can't believe he's really mine._ "It's time now for us to go further in our relationship, Naruto. I'm ready if you are."

Naruto stared back into Sasuke's beautiful dark gray eyes. He nodded his head because he was afraid to speak right now. He wasn't sure if he could get the words to come out at the moment. _I love Sasuke so much._

Sasuke smirked at the sudden shyness of his normally fearless blond. "I asked Kakashi if he could stay here tonight to watch over Itachi. I thought I would spend the night at your place, so we can be alone together."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" The blond wanted to go further in their relationship and he had a pretty good idea what Sasuke wanted to do. He felt nervous though.

Sasuke smiled gently at Naruto, then pulled him into his arms and held him. "Really. But first I have the rest of today planned out for us." He released Naruto and pulled back to look at him again. "You know that lake we like to swim at? Well, I thought we would go there first and swim and just enjoy being outside, since it's going to be a beautiful day today. We can catch some fish for lunch while we are there too. Then we can go to the hot springs to relax. We will have dinner at the new restaurant called Doumono, then head over to your place afterwards. How does that sound to you?"

_I never knew Sasuke could plan a day that would be so much fun! Hey, how did he know I would be available today?_ Naruto shrugged mentally. _I'll ask him later._ Naruto grinned at the raven haired boy. "It sounds great, Sasuke!"

The young Uchiha leaned down and gave the blond a quick chaste kiss on the lips. "Good. I packed us some swimming trunks and some towels to bring along with us and some other supplies. I'll be right back." Sasuke got up from the couch and headed up to his bedroom to get the bag.

Naruto smiled as he watched the other boy leave. _It's so great to see him like this. He looks at peace now. He got his revenge and also has his brother back in his life._

A couple minutes later, Sasuke came back downstairs. "You ready to go?"

"You bet!" Naruto followed Sasuke to the door.

After Sasuke closed and locked the door behind them, he took Naruto's hand and both walked down the road, heading out of the Uchiha district. It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the lake, that was located on the other side of the training grounds. During the walk, neither had said much and instead just enjoyed holding hands, while thinking about the other.

They swam and played together in the water. Naruto started a water fight that ended up in a make-out session, when Sasuke came up on him from behind. The young Uchiha grabbed his shoulders, turned him around, then kissed him senseless. Naruto didn't mind. When Sasuke finally let him go, the blond realized he was hungry.

"Sasuke, can we eat now?" Naruto was panting slightly, because of having to catch his breath.

The raven haired boy grinned down at the blond. _Guess I'll have to wait until later to kiss him again. God, he looks so delicious right now. The way his long hair is plastered around his face and body. It makes his eyes stand out even more...and the way the water is dripping all over his tan colored skin._ Sasuke had to force himself to turn away and get out of the water. He spoke with his back to the blond. "You catch the fish, I'll get the fire started."

Naruto only half-heard what Sasuke had said. His eyes were glued to the back of Sasuke and then he looked lower, watching how the boy's hips were swaying. _I feel so hot right now! Sasuke is so gorgeous, that I could look at him forever._ Naruto forced himself to snap out of his trance. _Got to catch our food!_ He created some clones and used them to help him catch a few medium sized fish. He dismissed all, but one clone, and then he and the last clone carried four fish out of the water. They both laid the fish down on a towel. He dismissed the clone, then grabbed a filleting knife that Sasuke had brought with them. He gutted the fish, then cut off their heads, after that he put all the fish on sticks and placed the sticks over the fire.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto and pulled him down onto his lap, facing him. He started giving his blond, small playful kisses, sometimes nipping at Naruto's bottom lip, sometimes the top. He ran his hands through long blond locks of hair, then began to kiss his love more deeply.

Naruto moaned in pleasure, he had his own hands in Sasuke's hair, playing with the raven locks he loved so much. When he felt Sasuke's tongue asking for permission to enter his mouth, he granted it by parting his lips. The sensations he was feeling caused him to squirm a bit in the dark haired boy's lap.

Sasuke knew he had to stop or their fish would get burned. He forced himself to pull away from the blond's lips. "I have to turn the fish, Naruto."

Naruto got out of the other boy's lap and turned around, then sat down. He looked at Sasuke, after he had finished with the fish and sat back down. "I love you, Sasuke."

The youngest Uchiha looked at Naruto and smiled. "I love you too, dobe."

"Sasuke! When are you going to stop calling me that!" Naruto couldn't really be angry though, because a confession of love had been with the insult.

Sasuke smirked. "You will always be my dobe."

_Okay, well if he puts it like that, I guess I'll just have to stop getting mad when he calls me a dobe._ Naruto leaned over and gave Sasuke a quick kiss on the lips, then pulled back. "I guess I can accept that. But if I call you Sasuke-teme, you have to accept that too." He smirked at the frown that came upon the other boy's face.

Sasuke looked away from his smirking boyfriend and checked the fish. Seeing it was done, he took all the pieces off the fire and placed them on a plate that he had brought with them. They both began to eat.

Naruto was too hungry to do anything but stuff his face, so he didn't speak until he was finished. He sighed in happiness. "That was so good, Sasuke!"

Sasuke had finished his meal too, he hadn't ate as much as the blond. Naruto still ate more than most boys his age. Sasuke always wondered where he put it all, since the blond never gained weight and stayed perfectly fit. He looked over at Naruto. "Let's clean up and then we can take a walk to the hot springs." He picked up the plate, then got up and walked over to the lake to clean it.

Naruto put out the fire and put the towels they had sat on and the one he had used for the fish, into a plastic bag so that it wouldn't get mixed up with the clean towels. Then he put the plastic bag into the bag that held their supplies. He took the plate that Sasuke had cleaned and put it in the bag too.

Both boys left the lake and walked in the direction of the hot springs, this time with Naruto carrying the bag. They ended up holding hands again.

* * *

To Naruto's surprise, after their dinner, Sasuke took him to one of the local hotels in the village. It was a five star hotel and Sasuke had booked them a suite. Naruto stared around the room in awe. There was a living room that had a big screen tv and a large comfortable looking couch. There was a bar in the room too, but neither of the boys were old enough to drink and they wouldn't have wanted to anyway. There was a balcony outside the room that also stretched to the bedroom. There was a kitchenette and in the refrigerator were some cans of soda and bottled water. There was popcorn and other snacks on the counter. Inside the bathroom was a large tub that could fit about three people in it and a separate shower. But the bedroom was what really pleased both boys. The walls were painted a cream color, while the carpet and bedspread were a dark sapphire blue. In the center of the room was a king sized bed and when Naruto bounced on it, he found it to be the most comfortable bed he had ever been on. He went out on the balcony and stared out over the village. The suite they had was on the top floor of the hotel and that gave them a view of the entire east side of the village.

Sasuke followed the blond out to the balcony and walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around him. He laid his chin on Naruto's shoulder. "Like your surprise?"

Naruto put his hands on the arms that were wrapped around his waist. "I love it, Sasuke! Thank you."

Sasuke raised his chin off the blond's shoulder, then leaned his head down and started kissing Naruto's neck. His arms tightened around his love when he heard the moan of pleasure coming from him.

Naruto turned his head to the right to give Sasuke better access to his neck. His hands tightened on the raven haired boy's arms as the pleasure started to become more intense. "Sassukee."

The young Uchiha stopped sucking on the blond's neck and pulled away from him. He took Naruto by one arm and lead him back into the room.

Naruto allowed Sasuke to lead him to the bed. He began to feel nervous, but there was no way he was going to let it get in the way of what was happening between them. He wanted Sasuke. He wanted to give himself totally to the one he loved. He wouldn't let anything get in the way of that.

Sasuke reached down and grabbed the hem of Naruto's shirt. He pulled the shirt up and when Naruto lifted his arms, he pulled the shirt completely off the blond. He grabbed his own shirt and took it off, then he pulled Naruto to him and started kissing him on the lips. His hands rubbed soothingly on the blond's back, as he did his best to ease any nervousness his soon-to-be lover was experiencing.

Naruto let his own hands stroke the back of his love. He loved the feel of Sasuke's skin under his fingers. He moaned in pleasure as the dark haired boy's kiss became more passionate. His tongue played with the other's and he began to feel as if his body was on fire. Naruto couldn't keep himself from pushing his hips into Sasuke's.

Sasuke groaned as he felt Naruto's erection push up against his own. _So my dobe is ready for more, eh?_ Sasuke began to rock his hips into the blond's. Both of them moaning aloud at the pleasure of feeling their members brush against each other. Sasuke's hands moved down and gripped Naruto's ass, pushing the blond more deeply into his thrusts.

"God, Sasuke!" Naruto cried out. Right after his cry, Sasuke moved his mouth down to his neck and started licking and nipping at it. "Sasuke, I don't want to wait anymore."

Sasuke pulled back and stopped rocking his hips. He let go of the blond's ass and moved away. He reached down to push Naruto's pants and boxers down his hips. He quickly pushed his own down and then lifted the blond and laid him out on the bed. He climbed up over Naruto and leaned down to kiss him quickly, then he got up from the bed and went over to the bag, that Naruto had dropped near the door to the bedroom.

Naruto was puzzled as to why Sasuke would leave him. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke came back to the bed with a tube in his hand, which he held up to show the blond. "This is what I need to use to make this experience more enjoyable for both of us. Just trust me, I know what to do."

"Hey, have you done this before? I thought this was going to be the first time for both of us!" Naruto was not happy about the idea that Sasuke had done this with somebody else.

Sasuke laughed at his blond dobe. "It is my first time, too. But I had a talk with Kakashi and he gave me a book to read that explained how to do this."

Naruto was shocked. "You talked to Kakashi about us having sex together?"

"Dobe, he knows we are together. Since he reads those perverted books all the time, I figured he would be able to answer my questions. I didn't want our first time together to be bad or painful. I want it to be perfect." Sasuke got on the bed, then leaned over the blond. He needed to get them both back in the mood, so he started kissing Naruto and after he put the tube of lube to the side, he began stroking the blond on the shoulders, then moved his hands down to the boy's chest. He pulled away from Naruto's lips and lowered his head down over one of the blond boy's nipples and started sucking on it.

Naruto moaned loudly and grabbed the back of Sasuke's head to hold it in place. When he felt the raven haired boy's teeth pulling at his nipple, he threw his head back and cried out in pleasure.

Sasuke moved his head over to the other nipple when he felt Naruto's hands had loosened their grip on his hair. He repeated the same actions on it, as he had done on the other. He became even more aroused at hearing the cries of pleasure coming from his blond. He left the nipple and started trailing kisses down Naruto's abdomen. He dipped his tongue inside the boy's navel and smirked when he saw the stomach muscles below him, twitching.

Edited out the lemon, see my profile for the link to the lemon.

Naruto raised a hand to Sasuke's head and caressed the back of his head. "Love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke managed to smile and pulled himself out of the blond.

Sasuke turned himself so he could lay down next to Naruto. "I love you, too." He reached out, with his clean hand, and caressed Naruto's face. "You are going to have to move into my home, you know. I want this every night. Hell, not just at night." He leered at the blond.

Naruto laughed. "You aren't becoming a pervert on me, are you?"

Sasuke smirked. "So what if I am? You're used to perverts anyway."

Naruto mock glared at his love. "There are enough perverts in this village, without you having to join their ranks!"

Sasuke rolled over towards the blond, then leaned his head down and whispered. "You'll just have to get used to it. You are a magnet for perverts. It's your lot in life." He lowered his face and kissed Naruto.

Naruto gave into the kiss and opened his mouth to let Sasuke's tongue in. Their tongues played with each other for a bit.

Sasuke pulled back from the kiss and stared deeply into the eyes of the person he loved more than anyone and anything. "You are going to move in with me, aren't you?" He wasn't planning on taking no for an answer, but he felt it was only fair to make sure Naruto was willing.

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it." Naruto suddenly yelped in surprise when Sasuke started tickling his sides. "Stop that!" He started laughing uncontrollably. In between laughs, he managed to get some more words out. "Please, stop. Sasuke!"

Sasuke took pity on his blond and stopped tickling him. "Okay, you had enough time to think. Yes or no, Naruto."

Naruto grinned. "Yes."

Sasuke grinned back, then attacked the blond's lips.

For the rest of the night, neither boy got any sleep.

**The End**


End file.
